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HISTORY, 
BUILDING  AND  SITE, 

AND 

SERVICES  OF  DEDICATION, 


AT 


Nashville,  Tennessee, 

J  A  N  V  A  R  Y     h  T. 


1876. 


Xichol8on,  Milliter,  104  William  St.  New  York. 


HISTORY 


BUILDING  AND  SITE, 


AM) 


SERVICES  OF  DEDICATION, 


AT 


Nashville,  Tennessee, 


J  A  N  U  A  RY      Is  T 

1S7(J. 


NEW   YORK: 
T  BUSHED  FOR  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  FISK  UNIVERSITY. 


(Dfjicifrs  of   ]Ft$l^  tlniimsity 

\  \MI  V  ll.l.i:.   TENJT. 


TRUSTEES. 

Gen.  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  New  York,  President;  Rev,  II.  s.  Benki  i  r,  Nashville, 
Secretary;  REV.  E.  M.Cravath,  Nashville  ;  Rev.  M.  K.  StrieBY,  I>.1>.  New  York; 
REV.  GEO.  WHIPPLE,  New  York  ;  1>.  W.  l'l.Al!<>l>Y,  Eso.  Nashville;  M  AJ.  Enos 
HOPKINS,  Colorado;    A.  S.  HXtCH,  ESQ,  New   York. 

FACULTY. 

REV.  E.  M.  CRAVATH, 

President,  and  Professor  of  Men  to/  and  Moral  Science. 

REV.  H.  S.   BENNETT, 
Professor  of  Theology  and  University  Pastor. 

REV.  A.  K.  SPENCE, 
Professor  of  Greek  Language  and  Literature. 

MISS  II.  C.  MORGAN, 

Professor  of  Latin  Language  and  Literature. 

REV.  E.  A.  CHASE, 
Professor  of  the  Natural  Sciences. 

ASSISTANT   INSTRUCTORS. 
Mr.  Jamks  BURRUS,  Miss  Anna  CAHILL,  Miss  IIknriitia  NCaTSON,  MissS.  E, 
l'xDixtcK,     Miss  E.  ]).  Santi.kv,     Miss  Rkhkc  <  a  MASSEY,    MisS   S.    M.  Wilis, 
Mrs.  y.  a.  Chase,  Miss  Susan  Stevenson. 

SUPT.  OF  CONSTRUCTION.  MATRON. 

iinx.  t.  c.  Stewart.  Mrs.  m.  m.  Cahill. 


American  Utissiown  Association, 

56  RcaAe  St.,  New  York. 


PRESIDENT, 

Hon.  E.  S.  Toisky,  Mass. 

CORRESPONDING  SECRE1  \RIKS, 

Rev.  George  Whipple.         Rev.  M.  E,  Strii  nv. 

TREASURER,  ASSISTANT  TREASURER*. 

Edgar  Ketchum,  Esq.  W.  E.  Whiting. 


v—  %f    \>       I 


Ftr*fc1 


FISK  UNIVERSITY. 


HISTORY. 

The  emancipation  of  the  slaves  by  the  war,  and  especial- 
ly their  poverty,  ignorance  and  helplessness,  stirred  most 
profoundly  the  hearts  of  Northern  people.  It  was  felt  that 
only  by  education  and  religious  culture  could  they  be  fitted 
far  their  new  sphere — that  to  this  end  they  needed  help  and 
needed  it  immediately.  This  benevolent  impulse  waited  not 
for  the  proclamation  of  emancipation  nor  for  the  close  of  the 
war.  The  American  Missionary  Association  opened  a  school 
among  the  escaping  fugitives  that  took  shelter  under  the 
guns  of  Fortress  Monroe,  Sept.  17,  1861,  only  five  months 
after  the  war  began.  This  was  the  first  Freedmen's  school 
in  the  United  States,  but  others  soon  followed.  Nearly  all 
denominations  of  Christians  in  the  Northern  States  were 
aroused  to  activity,  and  sent  missionaries  and  teachers  to 
follow  up  the  march  of  the  army ;  so  that  schools  quickly 
took  the  place  of  encampments. 

The  first  Freedmen's  school  in  Nashville  was  established 
by  Rev.  J.  G.  McKee,  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church, 
October  1.3,  1863.  He  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  place, 
being  possessed  of  undaunted  courage  and  an  apostolic  spir- 
it of  self-sacrifice.  The  school  met  with  great  success  for 
several  years,  until  other  schools  were  opened  and  colored 
children  were  admitted  into  the  public  schools,  when  Mr. 
McKee^s  school  declined  in  numbers,  and  was  finally  aban- 


233 


4  Fisk    University. 

doned.  Mr.  McKee  died  a  few  years  after  he  had  opened 
his  school,  but  the  heroic  labors  of  this  noble  Christian  man 
deserve  mention  in  any  statement  respecting  schools  for 
Preedmen  in  Nashville. 

Fisk  school  was  opened,  January  1),  18(>(i,  in  govern- 
ment buildings,  west  of  the  Chattanooga  depot,  known  at 
that  time  as  the  Railroad  Hospital.  The  buildings  that  had 
sheltered  the  I'nion  soldiers  became  the  school-house  lor  the 
emancipated  children  of  bondage.  General  C.  B.  Fisk  was 
then  chief  of  the  Freedmens  Bureau  for  Tennessee  and  ad- 
joining States,  and,  taking  great  interest  in  the  enterprise, 
it  was  called  by  his  name.  He  has  since  contributed  large- 
ly to  its  success.  The  school  was  under  the  auspices  of  the 
American  Missionary  Association,  of  New  York,  and  the 
Western  Freedmen's  Aid  Commission.  In  the  course  of  a 
\car  or  two  the  latter  society  turned  over  its  interest  in  the 
work  to  the  American  Missionary  Association,  by  which.it 
has  been  fostered  ever  since. 

The  Institution  has  been  sustained  by  marked  providential 
interpositions.  These  were  seen  at  the  outset.  The  school 
was  needed;  the  hospital  buildings  were  suited  to  the  pur- 
pose; but  they  could  only  be  secured  by  the  purchase  of 
the  grounds  on  which  they  stood  and  neither  of  the  socie- 
ties which  wished  to  start  the  school  had  the  means  at  hand 
to  make  the  purchase.  In  this  emergency,  three  men.  Rev. 
E.  I\  Smith,  then  recently  Secretary  of  the  Christian  Com- 
mission, Rev.PlM.Cravath,  lately  a  chaplain  of  the  army  and 
then  connected  with  the  American  Missionary  Association, 
and  Mr.  John  Ogden  who  had  been  in  the  army  and  was 
then  in  the  service  of  the  Western  Freedmen's  Aid  Com- 
mission, advanced  their  individual  credit  and  monev  to  the 
amount  of$J6,00Q  and  the  land  was  bought  and  the  build- 
ings opened  for  the  school.  It  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  Mr.  Ogden.  a  prominent  educator  before  the  war,  who 
during  his  two  school  years  in  Nashville  instructed,  with  the 


History  of  the  University.  5 

aid  of  a  corps  of  teachers,  nearly  1000  pupils  annually.  The 
indebtedness  to  Messrs.  Smith,  Cravath,  and  Ogden,  was 
subsequently  discharged,  and  the  American  Missionary  As- 
sociation became  possessor  of  the  property.  In  1861).  the 
Government  transferred  to  it  the  buildings. 

But  a  change  came,  developing  new  wants  and  followed 
by  providential  supplies.  In  the  summer  of  1867  the  city 
of  Nashville  decided  to  open  public  schools  for  colored  chil- 
dren, (which  was  done  the  following  Sept, )  The  progress 
of  many  of  the  pupils  had  already  demanded  higher  schools. 
A  boarding  hall  and  a  dormitory  building  were  needed  for 
like  advanced  scholars  from  other  places.  A  chapel, too,  was 
required  for  teachers,  pupils  and  others  for  Sabbath  wor- 
ship. In  view  of  these  facts,  a  charter  wras  obtained  in  Au- 
gust 1867  for  Fisk  University  with  the  expectation  that  it 
would  grow  with  the  growing  wants  of  the  people.  In  Nov. 
1867  the  first  normal  class  was  formed,  a  boarding  depart- 
ment was  opened  and  students  came  for  advanced  instruc- 
tion. With  these  new  needs  came  also  the  good  hand  of 
( iod  in  meeting  them.  The  Peabody  Fund  generously  grant- 
ed $800  a  year  to  aid  the  indigent  students;  in  1868  came 
the  grant  of  $7,000  from  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  and  with 
this  and  funds  from  the  Association,  the  old  buildings  were 
repaired,  a  dormitory  and  chapel  were  erected  and  ready 
for  use  in  1869.      Thus  were  these  wants  met. 

But  another  and  a  greater  crisis  came  in  1871.  The  old 
buildings  though  often  repaired  could  not  be  saved  from 
decay.  A  new  site  and  new  buildings  were  needed  or  the 
University  must  be  seriously  crippled  if  not  abandoned.  The 
American  Missionary  Association  had  no  resources  from 
which  to  meet  so  large  a  necessity.  But  the  hand  of  God 
was  not  shortened.  From  a  new,  an  unexpected  and  an 
unexampled  source  did  He  provide  the  means.  Geo.  L. 
White,  a  young  man  who  was  music  teacher  in  the  Institu- 
tion, conceived  the  idea  of  training  a  company  of  colored 


6  FlSK      rMYKKSITY. 

singers  and  carrying  them  through  the  Northern  States  on 
a  concert  tour.  His  enthusiasm  tor  musie  was  unbounded, 
and  his  ability  to  train  his  classes  extraordinary.  Pacing 
the  greatest  obstacles,  he  undertook  the  untried  work  upon 
his  own  responsibility.  He  and  his  troupe  set  out  from 
Nashville,  Oct.  6th,  1S7 1,  and  for  awhile  labored  on  making- 
scarcely  money  enough  to  meet  current  expenses.  But  at 
length  the  tide  turned  in  his  favor,  his  singers  were  applaud- 
ed by  crowded  houses,  they  became  famous,  and  both  money 
and  friends  were  theirs.  At  the  end  of  their  first  concert- 
season  they  found  that  they  had  netted  $20,000.  Another 
season  resulted  as  prosperously,  and  $20,000  more  were  se- 
cured. With  these  funds  twenty-five  acres  were  purchased 
— the  former  site  of  Fort  Gillem,  northwest  of  Nashville, 
one  of  the  most  eligible  situations  that  could  have  been  cho- 
sen. On  Jan.  1,  1873,  excavation  for  the  foundation  was 
commenced,  and  Oct.  1,  1873,  the  corner  stone  was  laid. 
The  Jubilee  Singers,  then  taking  a  tour  through  Great  Bri- 
tain, netted  $50,000  which  carried  on  the  work  to  a  cost  of 
$70,000.  After  this,  the  now  celebrated  troupe  returned 
home  to  Fisk  University  to  reorganize  for  another  season. 
They  are  now  again  in  Great  Britain,  and  are  engaged  in 
giving  their  unique  concerts  to  delighted  audiences.  Since 
going  over  last  summer  they  have  netted  $20,000. 

The  dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall,  Jan.  1,  1876,  completes 
this  remarkable  story  of  divine  help  in  the  hour  of  need. 

But  while  these  outer  providential  interpositions  have 
been  so  marked,  we  can  also  record  the  no  less  signal  man- 
ifestations of  divine  grace.  From  the  beginning,  the  school 
has  been  blessed  with  teachers  who  have  sought  the  spirit- 
ual good  of  the  pupils ;  and  the  gracious  manifestations  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  have  been  granted  as  the  almost  constant 
blessing  on  the  school.  Revivals  of  religion  have  frequent- 
ly been  enjoyed,  of  great  power  in  the  conversion  of  souls. 
These  spiritual  influences  have  been  borne  by  the  pupils  on 


Description  of  Juki  lee  Hall.  7 

their  return  home  and  as  they  have  gone  forth  to  teach  and 
to  prearh;  and  are  recognized  also  in  the  humble  deport- 
ment of  the  Jnbilee  Singers  amid  their  many  temptations 
to  vanity  and  worldliness  and  especially  in  the  wonderful 
success  which  God  has  been  pleased  to  give  to  them. 

Such  is  the  history,  in  brief,  of  one  of  the  institutions  es- 
tablished and  fostered  by  the  American  Missionary  Associ- 
ation of  New  York.  That  society  is  sustained  almost  entirely 
by  the  Congregational  churches  of  the  North.  It  has  now 
seven  chartered  institutions  like  Fisk  University, in  the  South, 
in  addition  to  twenty-five  normal  and  other  schools.  During 
several  years  after  the  war  it  supported  annually  upwards 
of  500  missionaries  and  teachers  in  the  South,  and  number- 
ed over  40,000  pupils  in  its  schools.  In  the  last  twelve 
years  it  lias  expended  in  the  South  in  its  educational  and 
religious  work  about  $3,000,000.  For  the  last  few  years  it 
has  concentrated  its  work  more  in  its  higher  institutions  and 
churches.  During  the  year  just  closed  it  has  had  under  if§ 
care  in  the  South  5ft  churches,  48  missionaries,  150  teach- 
ers, and  nearly  10,000  pupils;  but  many  of  these  pupils 
have  in  turn  become  teachers,  and  it  is  estimated  that  dur- 
ing the  year  no  less  than  60,000  children  were  taught  bv 
those  educated  in  the  schools  of  this  societv. 


JUBILEE    HALL. 

SITE    AND    WILDING. 

The  permanent  location  for  Fisk  University  is  most  hap- 
pily chosett.  It  is  situated  about  one  mile  northwest  of 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  occupies  the  former  site  of  Fort  Gillem. 
The  fort  was  named  in  honor  of  General  Gillem,  of  Modoc 
fame,  who  afterward  resided  on  a  farm  near  Nashville,  and 
who  died  there  about  four  weeks  ago.  The  fort  was  fur- 
nished with  a  good  armament,  but  there  never  was  anv 
fighting  done  there,  and  these  ramparts  were  fitly  leveled  to 


8  Fisk    I'mvkksitv. 

receive  a  building  won  by  the  pathetic  songs  of  enslaves, 

and  designed  for  the  enlightenment  and  elevation  of  their 
race,  whose  bondage  once  darkened  our  fair  land.  No 
memory  of  Wood  or  of  battle  will  cling  to  the  spot,  it  Is 
henceforth  consecrated  to  education  and  religion,  and  tin' 
fort  will  be  forgotten  in   the  rniversity. 

The  whole  tract  of  land  purchased  for  Fisk  University 
embraces  twenty-five  acres,  occupying  a  ridge  or  plateau, 
having  such  slopes  as  to  secure  unobstructed  views  on  both 
sides,  and  to  give  perfect  drainage.  Jubilee  Hall  occupies 
one  end  of  the  plateau,  and  future  edifices  will  extend  along 
the  remaining  portions,  so  well  fitted  for  the  purpose.  The 
main  angle  of  the  building  points  almost  directly  to  the 
capitol,  while  the  city  of  Nashville,  sloping  on  all  sides  from 
that  central  edifice  is  in  more  or  less  distinct  view  from  both 
of  the  principal  fronts  of  Jubilee  Hall.  The  city-view  from 
the  Hall  is  fine,  but  the  distant  as  well  as  near  scenery  on 
the  other  sides,  is  even  more  pleasant.  Indeed  there  is  no 
window  in  Jubilee  Hall  that  does  not  command  an  exceed- 
ingly beautiful  outlook. 

the  nni.nixo. 

The  massive  proportions  of  Jubilee  Hall  strike  one  pleas- 
antly as  he  approaches  it.  The  building  is  in  the  form  of  an 
k*  L,"  and  has  an  east  front  of  145  feet,  and  a  south  front  of 
128  feet.  Including  basement  and  cellar,  it  is  six  stories 
high,  and  is  supplied  with  all  the  conveniences  of  water, 
steam  and  gas.  It  is  heated  throughout  by  steam,  and  each 
room  has  a  radiator.  The  entire  building  contains  120 
rooms.  Jubilee  Hall  is  to  be  ultimately  the  Ladies'  Hall  of 
Fisk  rniversity,  but  until  other  college  buildings  can  be 
erected,  will  be  made  to  answer  all  purposes.  The  building- 
is  drained  by  a  twelve-inch  sewer  pipe,  which  runs  1,600 
feet  to  a  natural  aqueduct,  which  connects  with  the  river. 
The  building  is  made  of  the  best  pressed  brick,  with  stone 


Description  of  Jubilee  Hall.  9 

trimmings.  The  style  is  modern  English.  The  main  en- 
trance is  on  the  south  front,  and  is  composed  of  a  stone 
stairway  with  pillars  supporting  a  small  stone  balcony.  The 
front  door  is  composed  of  black  walnut,  of  massive  propor- 
tions, and  having  complete  bronze  trimmings.  On  the  right 
of  the  hall  are  the  reception  rooms  and  parlor,  one  16  by 
32  feet,  the  other  20  by  32  feet,  connected  by  large  folding- 
doors.  On  the  other  side  of  the  hall  is  the  office,  and  be- 
yond, the  assembly  room  about  20  by  32  feet  in  size. 
Opposite  this  on  the  cross  hall  is  the  library,  adjoining  it 
the  music  room,  and  further  on  smaller  rooms  that  are  to 
be  used  as  dressing  rooms  for  visitors  and  transient  guests. 
The  dining-room  is  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  building. 
Tt  is  38  by  DO  feet,  and  will  seat  300  persons.  It  has  two 
rows  of  columns  through  the  centre.  Beyond  the  dining- 
room  is  the  pantry,  supplied  with  every  convenience.  A 
dumb  waiter  connects  with  the  kitchen  below.  There  are 
china  closets,  with  innumerable  drawers  and  shelves,  dish 
basins,  etc.  Opposite  the  pantry  is  the  matron's  sitting- 
room,  having  a  private  stairway  connecting  with  her  bed- 
chamber on  the  next  floor.  On  this  floor  one  finds  himself 
in  the  dormitory  department.  Each  room  is  intended  to 
accommodate  two  students,  and  besides  double  beds,  is 
furnished  with  bureau,  w^ash-stand,  table, book-rack  and  three 
chairs.  Every  room  has  two  closets.  The  furniture  is  made 
of  solid  black  walnut.  Forty  of  the  sets  were  obtained  by 
Mrs.  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  and  forty  others  were  given  by  friends 
in  Great  Britain.  Each  bed  has  a  straw  mattress  and  a  heavy 
cotton  pad  upon  it.  The  three  upper  stories  are  fac  similes 
one  of  the  other.  All  are  divided  into  bedchambers  and 
all  furnished  exactly  alike.  Each  floor  has  bath-rooms  with 
hot  and  cold  water,  water  closets  and  wash  closets.  Three 
tanks  in  the  attic,  holding  thirty  barrels  each,  supply  the 
entire  water  convenience,  and  they  are  in  turn  supplied 
from  five  cisterns  in  the  cellar,  holding  25,000  barrels  of 


10  FlSK      rXIYKKSITY. 

water.  Bach  floor  lias  also  four  fire  plugs  furnished  with 
fifty  feel  of  hose  and  a  nozzle  each.     Descending  to  the 

basement  story  one  sees  in  one  portion  of  it  the  entire  steam 
heating  apparatus.  Near  this  is  the  laundry  department 
with  Ironing  room  and  drying  room,  complete  in  every 
particular.  In  the  other  extreme  end  of  the  basement  is 
the  kitchen.  ;i  commodious  apartment,  '20  by  40  feet,  The 
range  occupies  a  position  upon  a  cement  Moor,  thus  lessen- 
ing the  dangers  from  lire.  In  the  kitchen  are  four  copper 
steam  kettles,  connected  with  and  operated  by  the  steam 
heating  apparatus.  Adjoining  the  kitchen  is  the  kitchen 
pantry,  the  oven  robin,  and  the  bakery,  all  admirably  fitted 
for  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  intended. 

The  basement  also  eontains  six  rooms  that  have  been 
fitted  ii})  as  recitation  rooms,  having  a  black-board  extend- 
ing; all  around  These  will  serve  the  purpose  until  another 
building  ean  be  erected  for  a  boys'  dormitory  and  more 
suitable  recitation  rooms. 

The  front  halls  and  stairways  are  wainscoted  with  bean 
tifnl  wood,  alternated  in  dark  and  light,  brought  from  the 
Mendi  Mission,  West  Africa.  The  rest  of  the  wainscoting 
throughout  the  entire  building,  together  with  doors,  door 
facings,  cornices,  etc.,  is  made  of  white,  pine,  which  is 
varnished. 

Jubilee  Hall,  taken  altogether — in  solidity  of  walls,  care- 
fulness of  construction,  fitness  for  its  purpose,  in  its  safety 
for  health,  in  safeguards  against  lire,  and  in  its  general 
convenience  and  facility  for  study  and  work — is  worthy  of 
its  origin  in  the  songs  of  the  Jubilee  Singers. 

It  deserves  to  be  mentioned  that  no  inconsiderable  share 
of  the  substantial  and  tasteful  work  done  in  this  building 
was  performed  by  colored  men. 

With  its  new  facilities,  the  Tniversity  offers  better  ac- 
commodations and  increased  educational  advantages.  It 
has   thoroughly  organized   courses   in    the  Normal,  Higher 


Dedication  of  Jlbilee  Hall.  11 

Normal,  College  Preparatory  and  College,  and  also  in  The* 
ologv.  The  school  has  already  graduated  one  class  from 
the  higher  normal  and  one  from  the  college  course.  But 
this,  bv  no  means,  measures  the  extent  of  its  usefulness. 
Its  pupils  have,  in  the  past  year,  taught  120  schools,  with 
10,000  scholars,  to  whom  they  have  borne  a  healthful 
Christian  influence — as  well  as  to  homes,  Sunday-schools, 
prayer-meetings  and  churches,  where  they  have  temporari- 
ly resided. 


SERVICES  OF  DEDICATION. 

The  special  act  of  dedication  took  place  on  Saturday  fore- 
noon, January  1,  1870,  but  the  services  may  be  said  to  have 
begun  on  Friday  morning,  ere  the  rooms  had  all  been  clean- 
ed out  and  the  furniture  arranged,  and  to  have  ended, 
Jan.  3,  1876,  when  the  school  exercises  were  regularly  in- 
augurated. 

The  first  public  prayer  in  Jubilee  Hall  was  offered  on 
Friday  morning.  "We  assembled,"  says  one  of  the  teach- 
ers, f}  in  a  recitation  room,  and  as  there  were  no  seats,  we 
lined  the  four  walls  of  the  room,  standing  with  reverent 
heads,  as  Prof.  Spence  committed  to  God  our  new  and 
beautiful  house  and  ourselves  its  occupants." 

WATCH    NIGHT    MEETING: 

This  meeting  is  of  immemorial  observance  among  the 
colored  people  and  has  been  held  regularly  in  Fisk  School 
since  it  was  founded.  The  services  are  devotional  and 
being  continued  till  after  midnight  are  a  farewell  to  the  old 
year  and  a  welcome  to  the  new.  On  this  occasion  the 
meeting  was  conducted  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Hubbard,  formerly 
an  instructor  and  assistant  treasurer  in  Fisk  University, 
and  was  participated  in  by  teachers  and  students  and  bv 


12  Fisk     Cmvkhsitv. 

friends  from  abroad.  The  hours  were  delightfully  and 
profitably  spent  in  prayer  and  singing,  interspersed  with 
grateful  remembrances  of  past  spiritual  mercies  and  in  sup- 
plicating for  Divine  blessings  on  the  coming  services  of 

dedication  and  on  Fisk  University  as  it  enters  upon  its  new 
era,  and  also  upon  the  nation,  now  beginning  its  centennial 
year. 

A  teacher  gives  these  particulars :  "The  Special  burden 
of  prayer  seemed  to  be  that  God  who  had  so  surely  been 
with  the  school  in  the  old  home  might  take  possession  of 
this,  might  so  fill  it  with  Mis  presence  that  it  should  be  as 
the  temple  of  old,  when  the  glory  of  the  Lord  descended 
and  abode  upon  it,  and  in  it,  that  it  might  be  the  birthplace 
of  souls  for  many  generations  to  come.  A  student  prayed, 
'!0!  Lord,  Thou  knowest,  we  hated  to  leave  the  old  home, 
which  was  so  dear,  and  so  sacred  to  us,  and  we  do  not  want 
to  stay  in  this  spacious  building  unless  Thou  art  here.' 
Mention  was  made  of  Moses,  when  he  pleaded  with  God, 
'If  thy  presence  go  not  with  us,  carry  us  not  up  hence,' 
and  very  sweetly  came  to  our  hearts  the  promise  given  to 
God's  servant,  'My  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will 
give  thee  rest/  Just  at  twelve  o'clock,  when  1875  was 
numbered  with  the  past,  and  the  untried  new  year  was 
opening  upon  us,  we  all  knelt  in  silent  prayer,  that  God 
would  hide  us  beneath  His  wing,  safely  sheltering  us,  dur- 
ing all  the  passingi  years,  whether  they  brought  to  us  trial 
and  sorrow  or  joy  and  rejoicing,  in  the  great  work  that  He 
lias  given  us  to  do." 

DEDICATION    OF    THE    HALL. 
January  1,   1876. 

A  more  delightful  day  could  not  have  been  desired  for 
the  dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall  than  to-day.  Long  before 
the  appointed  hour,  crowrds  were  wending  their  way  to  the 
beautiful  hill  on  which  the  building  is  situated,  and  by  the 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  13 

time  the  exercises  opened  a  vast  throng  bad  assembled  to 
witness  one  of  the  most  interesting  events  that  has  ever 
occurred  in  the  history  of  the  colored  race.  Over  the  door 
leading  to  the  platform  from  the  hall  were  the  flags  of 
America  and  England,  looped  up  with  magnolia  leaves. 

On  the  speaker's  stand  were  seated  Revs.  T.  ( .).  Summers, 
I).  I).,  J.  C.  Granbery,  I).  I).,  and  N.  T.  Lupton,  LL.D., 
Professors  in  Vanderbilt  University;  Rev.  J.  Braden,  D.D., 
of  Central  Tennessee  College,  Rev.  1).  W.  Phillips,  D.D.,  of 
tlie  Nashville  Institute;  Rev.  J.  B.  McFerrin,  D.D.,  Corres- 
ponding Secretary,  and  Rev.  I).  C.  Kelly,  Assistant  Secre- 
tary, of  the  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South ;  Rev.  J.  B.  Lindsley,  Dr.  YY .  P.  Jones;  Ex- 
Senator  Fowler,  Judge  Alexander  Campbell;  Prof.  J.  W. 
Coyner,  Prof.  Cole,  Joseph  Cares,  G.  W.  Hubbard,  J.  J. 
(•irry:  (Jen.  Clinton  B  Fisk,  Rev.  M.  E.  Strieby,D.D.  Cor. 
Sec.  of  the  American  Missionary  Association,  Hon.  E.  P.  Smith. 
Rev.  6.  1).  Pike.  Rev.  \V.  S.  Alexander,  Edgar  Ketchum. 
Esq.,  Samuel  Holmes.  H.  W.  Hubbard;  Prof.  A.  K.  Spence, 
Prof.  F.  A.  Chase,  Rev.  H.  S.  Bennett  and  the  lady  teachers 
of  the  Institution. 

A  noticeable  feature  in  the  audience  was  the  large  number 
of  white  citizens  present.  The  Sixteenth  Infantry  Band 
was  in  attendance,  and  while  the  multitude  was  assembling 
and  in  the  subsequent  exercises,  contributed  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  occasion. 

(Jen.  Clinton  11  Fisk,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
took  the  chair  and  invited  the  vast  audience  to  unite  in 
singing. 

''Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. 

The  audience  remained  standing  while  Rev.  1).  W.  Phil- 
lips, I).  I),  invoked  the  Divine  blessing.  The  Cniversity 
choir  sung 

"Steal  away  to  Jesus." 


14  FlSK      rMVKHSITY. 

Selections  of  Scripture  were  rend  by  Ke\ .  .1.  Braden  from 
an  elegant  Bible  which  had  been  presented  to  the  .Jubilee 
Singers  by  the  Presbyterian  church  in  New  York  city.  6f 
which  the  Key.  Dr.  Burchard  is  pastor.  The  band  played 
the  national  airs,  closing  with  *k  Dixie"  and  k*  Yankee 
Doodle"  amid  loud  and  loll"' continued  applause. 

Gen.  Fisk  then  delivered  the  following  address: 

GENERAL   FISKS  ADDRESS. 

Friends  and  Brethren,  the  Faculty  and  students  of  V\sk 
I'liiyersity :  With  devout  thankfulness  to  the  Giver  of  all 
good  :  with  songs  of  praise  on  our  lips,  and  the  spirit  of  con- 
secration in  our  hearts  ;  we  would  this  day  gather  in  Jubilee 
Hall  to  dedicate  it  to  the  good  cause  of  Christian  culture. 
It  is  a  glad  day  for  all  ;  for  those  who  have  planned  and  la- 
bored through  much  discouragement — who  have  prayed 
and  watched  through  the  darkness  and  the  sunshine  for  the 
coming  of  this  hour.  It  is  a  day  of  joy  for  those  in  whose 
behalf  this  good  work  has  been  accomplished.  We  hail 
you  with  a  ".Happy  New  Year." 

We  listen  to  the  silent  footfalls  of  the  Old  Year,  which  has 
just  passed  out  into  eternity  la'den  with  its  joys  and  sorrows. 
We  step  over  the  threshold  of  a  glad  new  year,  and  hail 
each  other  and  all  with  hearty  greetings,  and  best  wishes 
and  prayers  that  "your  liyes  may  belong  upon  the  land 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.1'  And  was  there  ever 
land  more  beautiful?  Was  there  ever  a  more  goodly  her- 
itage than  yours,  ye  men  and  women  of  Tennessee?  Did 
lines  ever  fall  to  any  people  in  more  pleasant  places  than  in 
this  grand  Old  commonwealth?  From  its  magnificent  rivers 
to  its  boundary  lines  it  is  fitly  described,  as  was  Canaan  of 
old,  by  the  mouth  of  the  deliverer,  law -giver  and  prophet, 
as    u  a  good    land;    a  land  of  brooks  of  water,   of  fountains 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  1  "> 

and  depths  that  spring  out  of  valleys  and  hills;  a  land  of 
wheat,  and  barley, — a  land  wherein  thou  shalt  eat  bread 
without  scarceness,  thou  shalt  not  lack  anything  in  it ;  a 
land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou 
may  est  dig  brass." 

At  the  capital  of  the  State,  near  to  the  dust  of  the  iron 
man  who  sleeps  at  the  hermitage — here  within  the  encirc- 
ling arms  of  the  majestic  river  which  flows  at  our  feet, 
where  Nashville  sits  as  Queen  of  the  Cumberland — Jubilee 
Hall  this  day  throws  its  doors  wide  open,  and  bids  you  en- 
ter in  and  seek  wisdom  in  her  pleasant  ways  and  peace- 
ful paths.  How  could  we  better  do  our  part  in  the  usher- 
ing in  of  1876V  How  better  celebrate  the  centennial  year 
of  the  nation's  birth  than  by  the  recognition  of  our  grateful 
duty  to  our  God  and  country?  How  magnificent  the  out- 
growth of  the  century  of  our  national  existence !  Time  will 
not  permit  us  to  tell  you  ;  every  schoolboy  knows  it.  We 
will  not  here  undertake  to  portray  the  marvelous  develop- 
ment of  this  great  country.  One  hundred  years  ago  the  At- 
lantic coast  was  fringed  with  sparsely  populated  communi- 
ties. To-day  how  magnificent  the  growth  from  sea  to  sea 
and  from  the  silvery  lakes  of  the  North  to  the  Southern 

s„if. 

One  hundred  years  ago  this  morning, Washington  was  at 
Cambridge,  planning  his  attack  upon  Boston;  Lee  was  in 
Connecticut,  marching  on  New  York.  Gen.  Greene,  in  a 
New  Year's  communication  to  his  friend  Ward,  a  delegate 
in  the  General  Congress  from  Rhode  Island,  said  :  "  The 
interests  of  mankind  hang  upon  that  body  of  which  you  are 
a  member.  You  stand  a  representative  not  of  America  on- 
ly, but  of  the  friends  of  liberty  and  the  supporters  of  the 
rights  of  human  nature,  in  the  whole  world.  Permit  me, 
from  the  sincerity  of  my  heart,  ready  at  all  times  to  bleed 
in  my  country's  cause,  to  recommend  a  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, and  call  upon  the  whole  world,  and   the  great 


16  Fisk    University. 

God  who  governs  it,  to  witness  the  necessity,  propriety  and 
rectitude  thereof.  America  must  raise  an  empire  of  perma- 
nent duration,  supported  upon  the  grand  pillars  of  truth, 
freedom  and  religion."  One  hundred  years  ago  to-day  the 
germs  of  civilization  were  just  springing  up  on  the  banks 
of  the  Watawga,  in  East  Tennessee.  The  wild  beasts  of  the 
unbroken  forests  disputed  with  the  wilder  tribes  of  savage 
men  the  occupancy  of  these  and  surrounding  heights,  where 
your  magnificent  capitol,  the  spires  of  (liristian  temples, 
and  towers  of  universities  now  lift  their  beautiful  propor- 
tions to  the  sky.  It  was  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  later 
when  Tennessee  took  her  place  among  the  sisterhood  of 
States.  Time  would  not  permit  us,  nor  would  this  be  the 
occasion,  to  recite  her  marvelous  growth  and  the  inarch  of 
empire  within  her  borders. 

During  that  unhappy  period  when  wv  States  were  dissev- 
ered, discordant  and  belligerent,  and  the  land  was  rent  with 
civil  feuds,11  your  soil  was  lL  drenched  in  fraternal  blood/' 
Here  in  the  smoke  and  flame  of  battle,  from  every  section 
of  this  broad  land,  strong  arms  strove  and  brave  hearts  bled. 

"  Here  boomed  the  cannon's  thunderous  roar, 
The  sickened  earth  was  dark  with  gore." 

And  did  not  all  battle  for  the  right,  as  God  gave  them  to 
see  the  right?  Here,  on  this  very  spot,  was  the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  the  bloody  strife;  and  now.  "with  malice 
towards  none,  with  charity  for  all,11  we  trust  that  by  the 
operation  of  just  and  wholesome  laws  we  and  our  children, 
and  children's  children  to  the  remotest  generation  of  man- 
kind, may  enjoy  uninterrupted  peace  and  harmony,  forever 
established  injustice  and  righteousness. 

"  Lord  of  the  universe,   shield  us  and  guide  us. 
Trusting  Thee  alway,  through  sorrow  and  sun  ; 
Thou  hast  united  us,   who  shall  divide  us? 
Keep  us,   oh  keep  us,   the  many  in  one! 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  17 

Then  up  with  our  banner  bright. 

Sprinkled  with  starry  light, 
Spread  its  fair  emblems  from  mountain  to  shore, 

While  through  the  sounding  sky. 

Loud  rings  the  nation's  cry. 
Union  and  liberty!  one  evermore."  (Applause.) 

When,  in  1865,  the  rainbow  of  peace  spanned  the  coun- 
try's horizon,  to  myself  was  assigned  the  duty,  in  this  and 
adjoining  States,  of  aiding,  to  the  extent  of  my  ability  as 
an  officer  of  the  army,  in  the  re-establishment  of  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  civil  law,  in  the  restoration  of  prostrate  indus- 
tries, and  of  doing  whatever  else  should  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  a  people  whose  fields,  in  man}'  sections,  had  then  no 
fresh  furrows  save  those  which  had  been  turned  by  the  red- 
hot  ploughshare  of  war,  and  to  whom  had  come,  through 
the  arbitrament  of  the  sword,  a  revolution  upheaving  the 
great  social  and  industrial  system  which  had  grown  with 
the  growth  and  strengthened  with  the  strength  of  centuries. 
In  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties  assigned  to  me, 
from  no  source  did  I  receive  more  cordial  and  helpful  aid 
than  from  those  who  had  been  chief  spirits  in  the  great  con- 
flict, and  who,  with  sword  and  pen,  had  served  the  "  lost 
cause  "  with  all  possible  devotion  and  earnestness;  but  hav- 
ing returned  to  the  old  paths  they  with  equal  ardor  ham- 
mered swords  into  ploughshares,  and  thus  forgetting  the 
things  which  were  behind,  the  great  aim  was  to  follow 
those  which  made  for  peace.  We  struck  hands  of  fellow- 
ship and  said :  "  How  best  can  we,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
c  the  blue  and  the  gray,'  uplift  the  prostrate  communities ?,? 
The  years  it  was  permitted  me  to  serve  in  that  capacity  are 
among  the  most  satisfactory  of  my  life.  From  far  and  near 
came  up  the  busy  hum  of  resurrected  industry.  Churches 
and  college  buildings  were  restored  to  their  original  pur- 
poses, and  the  Christian  pastor  and  teacher,  the  Scriptures 
and  spelling  book,  resumed  the  places  from  which  they  had 
been  driven  by  the  stern  behests  of  war. 

1 


IS  FlSK      FnIVKKSITV. 

At  the  close  of  the  strife,  thousands  of  the  freed  people 
had  concentrated  in  the  cities  and  large  towns  of  the  South- 
ern States.  For  themselves  and  their  children,  they  earn- 
estly appealed,  for  the  advantages  of  schools,  which  their 
own  communities  were  not  then  prepared  to  afford.  The 
people  of  the  North,  through  many  religious  and  education- 
al organizations,  promptly,  to  the  extent  of  their  ability, 
aided  their  Southern  brethren  in  meeting  this  imperative 
demand  for  schools  for  the  Freedmen. 

It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  refer,  in  this  connection, 
to  one  whose  name  in  this  community  is  as  ointment  poured 
forth. 

''O  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand, 
And  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still/' 

Did  Christian  character  ever  shine  in  greater  completer 
Jiess  before  men,  than  was  revealed  in  the  beautiful  and 
blameless  life  of  Dr.  A.  L.  P.  Green  ?  Did  ever  better  heart 
throb  in  human  bosom  than  that  which  grew  still  in  his 
breast?  During  the  period  of  my  service  here,  Dr.  Green 
was  mv  constant  adviser  and  wise  counsellor.  His  intimate 
knowledge  of  all  parties  in  the  South,  and  his  earnest  desire 
to  promote  peace  and  goodly  fellowship  rendered  him  in- 
valuable to  me  in  the  discharge  of  the  delicate  duties  to 
which  I  had  been  called.  Dr.  Green  was  the  first  man  in 
the  nation  to  place  in  my  hands  any  considerable  sum  of 
money  for  the  education  of  the  Freedmen.  This  noble 
Southern  man  was  among  the  pioneers  in  this  good  work. 
|  Loud  applause  ]  T  can  hold  him  up  before  this  vast 
throng  of  young  men  who  listen  to  my  words  this  day  as  a 
worthy  example.  Stand  to-day  with  your  face  to  the 
stars  and  say,  "j  will  be  a  man;  a  Christian  man  in  all  gen- 
erosity and  earnestness.  I  will  follow  the  pathway  which 
shall  make  me  loved  while  I  live,  and  which  will  make  me 
honored  when  I  fill  my  grave." 

"  Tell  it  in  all  human  story, 
The  path  of  duty  is  the  way  to  glory. 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  19 

Chief  among  the  agencies,  and  earliest  on  the  ground 
with  educational  facilities,  was  the  American  Missionary  As- 
sociation, which  for  almost  a  third  of  a  century  has  been  in 
the  front  rank  of  mission  work,  especially  devoted  to  the 
uplifting  of  the  lowliest  of  the  earth  on  both  continents  and 
in  the  sea.  Patiently  and  faithfully,  through  good  and  evil 
report,  has  this  Association  marched  on  in  the  plain  path  of 
duty,  courting  no  antagonisms,  but  winning  the  favor  of  all 
classes,  lifting  up  the  lowly,  educating  the  poor  and  saving 
the  souls  of  men  by  the  powrer  of  the  gospel  preached  and 
taught  by  their  faithful  ministers  and  teachers.  All  hail  to 
the  noble  men  who  were  inspired  to  found  the  American 
Missionary  Association ! 

It  is  with  deep  regret  that  we  are  unable  to  welcome  to 
these  halls  to-day,  the  Rev.  George  Whipple,  the  venerable 
senior  Secretary  of  the  American  Missionary  Association, 
who,  from  the  day  of  its  birth  has  been  at  its  helm, assisted, 
for  many  years,  by  his  esteemed  and  valued  associate,  Rev. 
M.  E.  Strieby.  They  have  under  the  blessing  of  God,  car- 
ried it  forward  to  its  grand  success, and  many  successes  have 
they  achieved  all  over  the  world.  All  gratitude  to  the  host* 
of  generous  men  and  women,  who  have  cast  S3, 000, 000  in- 
to its  treasury ;  and  thanks  be  to  God  for  his  continued 
blessing  upon  its  faithful  managers,  under  whose  adminis- 
tration this  and  kindred  institutions  have  been  founded  and 
conducted. 

It  is  a  decade  since  many  of  us  who  share  in  this  day's 
joys  participated  in  the  inauguration  of  Fisk  School,  estab- 
lished in  yonder  vacated  army  barracks,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  American  Missionary  Association,  by  two  of  its  most 
faithful,  sagacious  representatives,  Revs.  E.  M.  Cravath  and 
E.  P.  Smith,  who,  after  a  survey  of  many  inviting  fields,  de- 
cided that  here,  in  this  central  city  of  the  South, they  would 
plant  a  university  for  the  higher  education  of  the  freed  peo- 
ple. It  was  the  day  of  small  things;  and  to  an  observer, 
who  did  not  with  prophetic  soul  scan  the  future,  the  idea 


20  Fisk    University. 

that  a  university  should  be  the  outgrowth  of  the  beginning 
6f  ten  years  ago  was  al)surd.  Let  us  not  despise  the  day  of 
small  things.  When  a  young  elergyman  eenturics  ago 
landed  from  the  Old  World  on  the  shores  of  New  England 
in  search  of  health,  and,  failing  to  obtain  it,  exchanged  both 
the  Old  and  the  New  World  for  Heaven,  and  in  dying  be- 
queathed £400  sterling  for  the  founding  of  a  college,  he  lit- 
tle knew  how  well  he  was  building,  and  that  Harvard  would 
become  a  household  word  the  wide  world  over.  And  when 
a  Few  poor  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  Connecticut  brought 
together  each  a  few  books,  and  said,  uW^e  give  these  for 
the  founding  of  a  college,"  they  had  no  conception  that 
their  act  was  the  first  step  in  the  creation  of  Yale. 

It  is  permitted  to  but  few  men  to  combine  with  the  ac- 
cumulation of  great  wealth  an  honest,  earnest  desire  to  so 
administer  God's  bounty  bestowed  upon  them  as  to  contrib- 
ute large  sums  of  money  within  their  own  lifetime  for  the 
founding  of  educational  and  eleemosynary  institutions.  The 
satisfaction  of  administering  upon  one's  own  estate,  and  wit- 
nessing with  one's  own  eyes,  and  rejoicing  in  one's  own 
heart  in  the  presence  of  good  thus  accomplished,  is  one  of 
the  best  gifts,  too  seldom  earnestly  coveted.  A  notable 
exception  is  revealed  in  yonder  group  of  architectural 
beauty,  Vanderbilt  University.  [Applause.  |  The  venera- 
ble Commodore's  gatherings  from  the  wave  and  the  rail  are. 
without  ostentation,  dispensed  by  the  repeated  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  May  his  broad  pennant  continue  to  float 
from  the  masthead  of  commercial  success,  and  his  generous 
gifts  be  supplemented  in  a  life  well  rounded  in  the  good 
work  of  blessing  mankind;  and  afterward  may  an  abundant 
entrance  upon  heavenly  reward  be  his.     [Applause.  | 

The  history  of  the  rise  and  progress,  successes,  disap- 
pointments and  triumphs  of  Fisk  University  would  reveal  a 
story  replete  with  illustrations  of  heroic  Christian  faith,  and 
a  sublime  courage  which  knows  no  such  word  as  fail     The 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  21 

demand  from  every  section  of  the  country  inhabited  by  the 
freed  people,  for  educational  facilities,  exceeded  the  ability 
of  the  American  Missionary  Association  and  kindred  organi- 
zations to  supply.  The  immediate  friends  and  promoters 
of  this  institution,  though  poor  in  worldly  goods,  and  beset 
with  discouragements  without  limit,  were,  nevertheless, 
rich  in  faith,  and  never  faltered  from  their  original  purpose 
to  build  here  a  college,  or,  at  least,  make  the  beginning, 
trusting  to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  those  who  might  come 
after  them  to  carry  forward  the  enterprise  to  complete  suc- 
cess. Year  by  year,  after  the  undertaking  of  ten  years 
since,  grew  upon  us  the  perplexing  problem  of  obtaining 
the  means  to  purchase  a  new  site  and  erect  the  permanent 
initial  building  of  Fisk  University.  When,  through  decay 
of  the  old  buildings  and  the  urgerrt  demands  for  increased 
facilities,  the  necessity  for  a  solution  of  the  problem  became 
imperative,  there  was  found  one  man  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency. 

The  son  of  a  village  blacksmith,  who,  from  limited  ad- 
vantages of  culture,  became  a  successful  country  school 
teacher,  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier  of  the  army  of  the 
Union,  and  a  most  faithful  staff  officer  in  my  own  military 
family,  became  the  man  of  all  work  in  the  hour  of  our 
greatest  need ;  and  to  no  human  agency,  nor  to  all  other 
human  agencies  combined,  are  the  triumphs  of  this  glad 
hour  so  much  indebted  as  to  George  L.White.   [Applause.] 

u  There's  music  ever  in  the  kindly  soul; 
For  every  deed  of  goodness  done  is  like 
A  chord  set  in  the  heart,  and  joy  doth  strike 
Upon  it  oft  as  memory  doth  unroll 
The  immortal  page  whereon  good  deeds  are  writ.'' 

There  was  music  in  the  soul  of  our  good  Brother  White. 
He  gathered  around  him  the  children  of  the  Freedmen,  and 
with  them 

*'  Sung  the  old  song." 

He  conceived  the  idea  of  coining  the  slave  melodies  of  the 


tt  Fisk    I'nivkksity. 

old  plantation  and  th<^  camp-meeting  into  fjoM  and  silver, 
wherewith  to  purchase  this  commanding  site,  and  upon  it 
erect  Jubilee  Hall.  [  Applause.  |  George  L.  White  was 
eminently  a  man  of  faith,  and  when  he  went  before  God  on 
his  knees  and  asked  his  blessing  upon  his  efforts,  lie  believed 
that  (Jod  was  going  to  help  him.  His  was  the  prophetic 
soul.     He  saw  the 

"  Glorious  coming  years, 
This  prophet  saw  them  far  upon  the  way : 
With  timbrel  and  with  song 
Before  the  doubting  throng 
He  bore  the  standard  of  the  coming  day." 

How  well  do  I  remember  when  this  good  brother  wrote 
me  at  my  home  in  St.  Louis,  and  asked  me  to  loan  him 
s:>()()  to  take  his  singers  north  of  the  Ohio  river.  I  wrote 
an  answer  and  told  him  not  to  think  of  such  a  thing ;  that 
he  would  bring  disgrace  upon  us  all,  and  told  him  to  stay 
at  home  and  do  his  work.  He  wrote  back  that  he  trusted 
in  God  and  not  in  Gen.  Fisk.  [Laughter.  |  Next  we  see 
him  marching  onward  with  his  little  band.  Reaching  the 
city  of  Cincinnati  destitute,  he  went  down  to  our  old  friend 
llalstead,  of  the  Commercial,  and  said  to  him,  "  You  are  a 
friend  of  Gen.  Fisk;  I  have  some  students  of  his  who  are 
going  to  sing  Sunday  morning  at  such  a  church.  T  have 
no  money  to  pay  for  the  advertisement,  so  will  you  please 
say  in  your  paper  that  they  are  here  ?"  This  was  on  Friday 
and  they  were  to  .sing  on  Sunday.  Judge  of  Mr.  White's 
surprise  to  see  announced  in  Saturday  morning's  paper  that 
(Jen.  Fisk's  negro  minstrels  from  Tennessee,  |  laughter  | 
were  in  the  city,  and  would  sing  in  such  a  church  the  next 
morning  at  10:30  o'clock,  and  advising  everybody  to  go. 
Everybody  did  go,  as  it  was  something  really  wonderful  to 
witness  a  negro  minstrel  performance  in  a  church  on  Sun- 
day. [Laughter.  ]  It  was  a  grand  triumph  for  the  negro 
minstrels ;  it  was  the  foundation  of  their  success. 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  S3 

The  story  of  the  .Jubilee  Singers  fills  a  volume.  The 
little  poorly  clad  company  of  emancipated  slaves  who,  four 
jrears  a$o,  left  Nashville  on  their  mission  of  song,  have, 
since  that  day.  written  their  names  indelibly  on  the  hearts 
of  millions  in  our  own  country  and  Great  Britain.  They 
went  forth  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed;  they  came 
again  rejoicing,  bringing  their  sheaves  with  them. 

We  should  fail  in  the  discharge  of  our  grateful  duty  on 
this  occasion  did  we  not  .speak  of  the  faithful  and  persever- 
ing labors  of  Rev.  G.  D.  Pike,  who  as  business  manager  for 
the  Jubilee  Singers,  made  their  great  achievements  possible, 
bv  his  unremitting  toil  in  properly  presenting  them  before 
the  public. 

In  America  they  conquered  social  prejudices,  and  by 
their  modest.  Christian  demeanor,  which  they  have  so  hap- 
pily retained,  commanded  the  respect  and  generous  pat- 
ronage of  the  best  and  highest  in  the  land.  Beyond  the 
sea  they  have  twice  received  hearty  welcome  and  Godspeed 
from  the  noblest  and  best  of  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
We  this  day  record  with  a  becoming  spirit  of  gratitude  our 
obligations  to  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  whose  great  heart 
throbs  generously  for  all  humanity,  and  its  every  good 
cause,  for  royal  welcomes  to  England  by  his  lordship  ex- 
tended ;  to  her  Majesty,  Britain's  most  noble  Queen,  and 
the  royal  family,  for  their  kindly  benediction  upon  the 
Singers  ;  to  her  Prime  Minister,  Mr.  Gladstone,  to  Hon. 
John  Bright,-  to  Rev.  Newman  Hall,  Spurgeon,  Parker  and 
Dr.  Allon,  and  to  hosts  of  others  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
who  have  smoothed  the  pathway  of  the  Jubilee  Singers, 
and  caused  their  treasury  to  ring  with  the  clink  of  British 
gold,  therein  cast  for  the  furtherance  of  our  cause.  We 
can  express  for  them  all  no  better  wisli  than  that,  in  the 
great  day  of  final  rewards,  they  and  we  may  be  gathered 
into  the  common  citizenship  of  that  better  and  heavenly 
country,   where 


24  Fisk    Tnivkhsity. 

"  Unfailing  palms  we'll   bear  aloft, 
Unfailing  songs  we'll  sing, 
Unceasing  jubilee  we'll  keep, 
In  presence  of   our  king." 

(Jod  bless  her  Majesty,  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain,  and 
the  Doble  land  so  prosperous  under  her  benign  reigiL 
|  Applause.  |  God  bless  the  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  the  goodly  land  of  the  Great  Republic. 
|  Applause.  |  The  flags  of  these  two  Christian  nationalities 
are  here  this  day  displayed  in  loving  embrace.  God  grant 
that  they  may  never  again  be  borne  against  each  other  in 
the  thunderous  roar  and  flame  of  battle ;  but  may  their 
protecting  folds,  leading  the  march  of  commerce  on  land 
and  sea,  cover  the  missionary  of  the  Cross  and  the  school- 
teacher, as  in  every  land  on  the  globe  they  preach  revealed 
truth  and  establish  Christian  civilization. 

And  now  with  gratitude  to  Him  who  hath  raised  up  for 
us  so  many  friends,  and  with  grateful  memory  of  every 
instrumentality  by  Him  employed  to  promote  our  welfare, 
we  this  day  come  to  dedicate  our  Jubilee  Hall.  Here 
within  these  walls  may  there  ever  be  taught  that  which 
will  mature  into  noble  manhood  and  womanhood  the 
thousands  of  youth,  who  we  trust  will  throng  these  halls  in 
seeking  wisdom  that  they  may  be  properly  fitted  for  posi- 
tions  of  responsibility  and  usefulness.  Let  there  be  laid, 
broad  and  deep,  the  foundations  of  virtue,  truth  and  hon- 
esty, in  every  character  here  moulded.  Who  can  portray 
the  value  of  education?  It  has  been  well  said,  "  Of  all 
the  blessings  which.it  has  pleased  Providence  to  allow  us 
to  cultivate,  there  is  not  one  which  breathes  a  purer  fra- 
grance or  bears  a  heavenlier  aspect  than  education.  It  is 
a  companion  which  no  misfortune  can  depress,  no  crime 
destroy;  no  enemy  alienate,  no  despotism  enslave  ;  at  home 
a  friend,  abroad  an  introduction,  in  solitude  a  solace,  in 
society  an  ornament ;  it  chastens  vice,  it  guides  virtue  ;  it 
irives  at  once  a  grace  and  irovernment  to  genius.      Without 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  25 

it,  what  is  man  ?  A  splendid  slave — a  reasoning  savage, 
vacillating  between  the  dignity  of  an  intelligence  derived 
from  God,  and  the  degradation  of  passions,  participated 
with  brutes,  and  in  the  accident  of  their  alternate  ascend- 
ency shuddering  at  the  terror  of  an  hereafter,  or  hugging 
the  horrid  hope  of  annihilation." 

"Wisdom  is  the  principle  thing,  therefore  get  wisdom. f 
But,  .above  all  else,  may  they  who  herein  enter  be  made 
"  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus/* 
who  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  hath  said,  "'Wisdom  and 
knowledge  shall  be  the  stability  of  thy  times,  and  strength 
of  salvation. " 

Lift  up  your  eyes  and  behold  the  outstretching,  whiten- 
ing harvest,  which  invites  you  who  will  go  forth  from  this 
Institution  with  the  Divine  benediction  upon  you,  to  teach 
and  preach  among  the  millions  of  our  land,  who  stretch  out 
their  hands  appealing  for  knowledge,  and  the  unnumbered 
millions  more,  who  from  the  heart  of  Africa  are  inviting 
the  means  of  religious  renovation  of  that  mysterious  land 
from  which — thanks  be  to  God — the  pall  of  barbarism  is 
being  lifted.  Let  it  be  the  aim  of  Fisk  University  to  fash- 
ion those  who  shall  be  sufficient  for  these  things.  And  up- 
on all,  the  teachers  and  the  taught,  and  upon  our  friends 
everywhere,  may  there  this  day  come,  and  forever  upon 
them  remain,  the  blessing  of  the  Father  who  hath  loved  us, 
the  Son  who  hath  died  for  us,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
quickeneth  and  sanctifieth.     Amen. 


CONGRATULATORY  DESPATCHES. 


Gen.  Fisk  remarked  that  a  large  company  of  friends  in 
Great  Britain  were  that  day  celebrating  with  the  Jubilee 
Singers  this  glad  occasion,  and  stated  that  the  Jubilee 
Singers  had  just  sent  them  the  following  despatch  from 
Leeds,  where  they  then  were. 


l>i;  Fisk    Fniykksity. 

CABLK  TELEQBAH    FROM    ENGLAND, 

-British  friends  and  Jubilee  Singers  send  greeting. 
Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us.  May  Fisk  University  be 
inspiration  to  straggling  humanity  in  America,  and  light  to 
Africa's  millions.  May  Great  Britain  and  America  ever 
thus  unite  to  extend  Christ's  kingdom. 

Leeds,  9  a.m.  F.  M.  Cuayatii." 

RESPONSE    FROM    NASHVILLE. 

a  Fisk  University  responds  with  thankful  greetings.  To 
tin*  Jubilee  Singers,  to  their  friends  at  home  and  in  the  land 
of  Wilberforce  and  Sharp,  we  owe  what  God  hath  wrought* 
May  the  two  flags  floating  to-day  from  Jubilee  Hall  ever 
symbolize  the  united  purpose  of  both  lands  to  fit  the  strug- 
gling Freedmen  of  America  to  cany  tight  to  Africa. n 


The  audience  then  united  with  the  choir  in  singing, 

"The  year  of  Jubilee." 

Rev.  .John  B.  McFerrin,  D.D.  senior  Secretary  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South 
was  introduced  by  Gen.  Fisk,  as  having  most  faithfully 
aided  him  during  his  official  residence  in  Nashville.  He 
also  introduced  him  as  one  of  the  vigorous  young  men  of  the 
times  who  had  for  more  than  fifty  years  preached  the  gos- 
pel of  the  blessed  Master  and  was  still  valiantly  bearing  the 
banner  of  the  Cross. 

Dr.  McFERRIN'S    REMARKS. 

Dr.  McFerrin  was  greeted  with  much  enthusiasm  and 
spoke  with  great  earnestness  as  follows: 

Gen.  Fisk,  and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  I  am  here  this 
morning  contrary  to  my  expectations.  I  have  an  appoint- 
ment forty  or  fifty  miles  south  of  this  place  to-morrow,  and 
must  depart  in  a  moment  to  meet  that  engagement.  One 
of  the  greatest  things  in  a  Methodist  preacher  is  punctual- 


Dedication  of  Jihilke   Hall.  21 

itv,  but  when  I  knew  you  (addressing  (Jen.  Fisk)  were 
here,  I  could  not  forego  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you,  of 
greeting  you,  and  of  giving  countenance,  little  as  my  in- 
fluence is,  to  this  great  occasion.  [  Applause.  J  I  was  very 
glad  to  hear  you  say  here  to-day  that  the  first  considerable 
sum  of  money  placed  in  your  hands  to  he  used  in  promot- 
ing educational  facilities  for  the  Freedmen  was  contributed 
by  a  Southern  man  and  a  Southern  Methodist  preacher. 
[Applause.]  I  hope  it  may  never  be  said  hereafter  any 
where,  that  we  of  the  South  are  opposed  to  the  education 
and  elevation  of  the  colored  people.  Then,  sir,  you  made 
another  remark  that  touched  me  deeply.  There's  not  re- 
corded such  an  instance  in  history  that  a  few  men  and 
women,  like  the  Jubilee  Singers,  have,  within  the  space  of 
a  very  few  years,  raised  $100,000  for  the  education  of 
their  race.  But  the  beautiful  point  in  it  is  this,  that  I  had 
some  hand  in  that.  [Applause.  |  Now,  you  askme,ahow 
do  you  account  for  that,7'  and  I  tell  you  that  it  is  owing  en- 
tirely to  camp-meeting  songs.  I  helped  to  teach  the  colored 
people  the  camp-meeting  songs  which  lie  at  the  foundation 
of  Jubilee  Hall.  I  have  heard  those  songs  sung  during  my 
ministry  of  fifty  years.  I  thank  God  that  after  delivering 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  discourses  to  colored  people,  I 
have  lingered  around  to  hear  these  beautiful  songs,  which 
were  sung  until  the  break  of  day.  If  the  teachers  here 
will  teach  them  to  send  up  songs  and  shouts  of  praise  to 
Jesus,  I  simply  say  Amen.  [Loud  applause.  ]  I  want  you, 
Gen.  Fisk,  and  all  others,  to  understand,  that  the  Southern 
people,  as  far  as  my  information  extends — that  is,  the  in- 
telligent, patriotic,  and  Christian  people  of  the  South,  with 
perhaps,  a  few  exceptions — rejoice  in  the  education  and 
elevation  of  the  colored  people,  and  full)'  appreciate  the 
grand  work  you  are  doing  for  them.  [Loud  applause.  ]  1 
stand  on  my  native  soil  and  bear  this  testimony.  It  meets 
the  hearty  co-operation  and  sincere  approbation  of  all 
Christian  people. 


28  KlSK      I'M  VERITY. 

In  the  elevation  to  which  the  colored  people  may  attain 
it  is  my  prayer  that  all  the  instruction  they  may  receive, 
all  the  culture  you  may  bestow  upon  them,  may  bring  them 
to  Jesus,  Your  Sunday-schools,  churches,  seminaries,  and 
your  colleges,  are  worth  nothing  unless  you  bring  those 
taught  to  Jesus.  I  pray  that  the  President,  the  Faculty, 
the  teachers  and  the  pupils  may  all  be  sanctified  in  Christ, 
and  at  last  meet  in  heaven  for  Christ's  sake."  [Applause.  | 


LETTERS  FROM  INVITED  GUESTS. 

Letters  were  then  read  by  Gen.  •  Fisk,  from  a  number  of 
prominent  gentlemen,  expressing  their  interest  in  the  cause 
to  which  Fisk  University  is  devoted  and  regret  that  they 
were  not  able  to  attend.  The  letters  were  from  Mr.D.  L. 
Moody,  the  Evangelist,  Gen.  Garfield,  M.C.,  Hon.  L.  Q.  C. 
Lamar,  Hon.  W.  E.  Dodge,  Bishop  Payne,  Hon.  Geo.  H. 
Stuart,  and  Hon.  John  Eaton,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation. 


ADDRESS  OF  SECRETARY  STRIEBY. 

Gen.  Fisk  introduced  Rev.  M.  E.  Strieby,  DD.,  one  of  the 
Secretaries  of  the  American  Missionary  Association. 

Dr.  Strieby  said :  We  are  called  to  dedicate  a  building 
of  peculiar  origin.  Some  one  has  said  that  "  architecture 
is  frozen  music."  The  music  of  the  Jubilee  Singers  has 
rolled  over  this  land  and  swept  across  the  ocean,  moving 
the  hearts  and  calling  forth  the  tears  of  vast  multitudes, 
and  it  is  now,  by  a  magic  touch,  consolidated  into  this  sub- 
stantial and  beautiful  building.  It  is  fit  that  the  American 
Missionary  Association  should  rejoice  to-day,  through  its 
representative,  but  I  prefer,  instead  of  mere  congratula- 
tions, to  answer  the  question:  *"  Why  build  such  large  and 
permanent  edifices  ?"  It  has  been  said  frequently  that  this 
work   among   the   colored   people  is  transient,  but   I  pro- 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  2!) 

pose  to  show  that  the  Christian  education  of  the  Freedmen. 
to  which  this  building  is  devoted,  is  connected  with  three 
great  achievements  of  our  second  national  century,  and  that 
the  responsibility  of  the  results  is  shared  by  the  three  con- 
tinents, America,  Europe  and  Africa. 

The  first  of  these  is  the  solution  of  the  Labor  Question. 
This  is  the  profoundest  problem  for  Europe  to-day.  It  is 
not  simply  the  question  of  ua  day's  work  and  a  day's  wage," 
nor  of  the  relation  of  "  Labor  to  Capital,"  but  the  still  deep- 
er one  of  the  condition  of  the  laborer.  In  Europe,  a  man  born 
a  laborer  is  expected  to  remain  a  laborer.  He  is  trained  for 
that  only,  and  is  held  there  by  all  the  weight  and  surround- 
ings of  society.  His  discontent  augments  that  of  his  class, 
and  that  discontent  is  the  growth  of  ignorant  and  crushed 
generations.  This  is  the  volcano  on  which  the  old  world 
slumbers  with  wakeful  anxiety  and  alarm.  It  was  one  of  its 
outbreaks  that  overflowed  Paris  with  fire  and  blood  in  the 
dreadful  days  of  the  Commune  after  the  Germans  had  left : 
and,  ever  since,  Europe  has  slumbered  yet  more  uneasily. 

The  remedy  for  all  this  is  to  break  the  crust  of  class  op- 
pression and  let  in  the  stimulus  of  opportunity  and  of  edu- 
cation. As  the  warmth  of  the  sun  and  the  genial  shower  on 
the  frozen  meadow  unbinds  its  icy  fetters  and  warms  the 
seed,  the  root,  the  plant,  into  germination,  so  must  the  means 
of  culture  be  given  to  every  man  irrespective  of  class,  that 
he  may  develop  whatever  of  talent  or  power  he  has  in  him. 
The  plants  of  the  field  are  not  of  equal  size  or  value,  nor  are 
the  talents  or  possibilities  of  men  the  same,  but  society  must 
give  to  man  what  nature  gives  to  the  plants — the  opportuni- 
ty and  means  of  unfettered  growth. 

America  was  once  afflicted  with  this  labor  difficulty  in  its 
most  aggravated  form.  Slavery  held  its  victims  in  the  most 
absolute  caste-oppression.  The  national,  state  and  munici- 
pal authorities  combined  to  strengthen  its  grasp  upon  the 
negro;   every  individual  white  person  added  his  vigilance 


30  Fisk    I'mvkhsitv. 

and  the  color-brand  marked  the  oppressed  as  a  separate  class. 
Hut  the  crust  is  broken,  not  by  the  uprising  of  the  patient 
people  beneath,  but  by  a   bomb-shell  from   without.      This 
leaves  us  our  present  gigantic  problem,  "  what  shall  we  do 
with  these  people?"   Thfey  are  >lii  nation  born  at  once,'"  born 
in  their  helplessness,  unskilled  in  the  arts  of  industn  .  econo- 
my or  of  thrift,  born  with  almost  nothing*  on  the  face  of  the 
earth;  with  no  land,  no  home,  no  capital,  no  skill.     Their 
ignorance — while  they  are  citizens  and  voters — gives  a  start- 
ling preponderance  to  the  illiteracy  of  the  South,  as  com- 
pared with  any  other  section  of  the  Union.      The  census  of 
1870  shows  that  while  the  West  has  only  409, 1  To  persons 
over  10  years  of  age  who  cannot  read,   the  Booth  has,   in- 
cluding both  whites  and  blacks,  3,550,425— -an  excess  of  over 
three  millions!    It  shows  that  of  the  voters,  the  West  has  only 
217,403  who  cannot  read,  but   the  South  has,    including 
both  races,   1,137,303,  or  nearly  one  million  more!      If  we 
are    alarmed   at  the  prevalence  of  ignorance  through  the 
incoming  of  foreigners  in  the  North  and  West,  what  should 
l»e  the  alarm  at  the  dense  illiteracy  in  the  South!'     What 
a  theatre    for    demagogues,    of  both    parties   and  of   both 
colors!       What   a    range    for    the    growth    of   the    vices 
begotten    of  slavery !       The    negro    is   not    a   communist 
— the  danger  is  not  of  violence  and  blood;  it  is  rather  that 
of  stagnation.     The  malaria  in  the  low-lands  hangs  heavy 
and  close  to  the  ground.      It  is  only  dissipated  by  the  sun's 
rays  and  the  influx  of  the  pure  mountain  winds,  which  ming- 
ling with  it  and  lifting  it  up,  render  it  harmless.      So  is  this 
Southern  problem  to  be  met.     These  colored  people  must 
have  the  rays  of  the  sun  of  knowledge  and  the  pure  air  of 
divine  truth  to  dissipate  their  ignorance.      There  is  no  hin- 
drance.     They  ean  be  educated.      They  must  be  helped  to 
develop  whatever  of  talent  or  manhood  ( rod  has  given  them. 
They  are  to  take  their  place  among  men.   not  bv   compul- 
sion, but  by  showing  their  fitness  for  it. 


Dedication  OF  Jubilee   Hall.  .'}  1 

The  American  Missionary  Association  comes  to  lend  a 
helping  hand.  We  claim  not  to  be  alone  in  this  work.  We 
recognize  gladly  the  institutions  and  labors  of  kindred  so- 
cieties from  the  North  and  the  co-operation  of  the  people 
of  the  South.  We  come  not  with  Force  Bills,  Civil  Rights 
enactments,  nor  with  denunciation.  We  come  not  to  seek 
office  nor  public  emoluments,  but  Ave  have  come  simply  to 
aid  in  the  education  and  Christian  culture  of  the  people — to 
help  to  develop  in  them  all  the  manhood,  the  talent,  the  ge- 
nius and  the  piety  with  which  God  has  endowed  them.  This 
( 1hristian  work  is  the  surest  bond  of  union  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  Men  talk  of  political  unity,  but  there  is  a 
far  more  tender  and  enduring  tie — that  of  Christian  love  and 
labor.  When  the  Christian  people  of  the  South  see  that  our 
sole  purpose  in  coming  here  is  to  lift  up  this  people  by 
educational  antl  religious  culture,"  they  will  extend  to  us  the 
hand  of  welcome  and  say,  u  Brothers  of  the  North,  if  you 
come  for  this,  we  are  with  you  heart  and  soul."  In  one  of 
our  institutions  in  the  South  there  was  an  examination,  at- 
tended by  several  influential  Southern  men.  A  prominent 
gentleman,  an  ex-governor,  avowed  that  he  came  to  prove 
from  that  examination  that  the  negro  belonged  to  an  in- 
ferior race;  but  after  three  days  of  patient  attention  to  the 
examinations,  lie  declared  with  a  noble  frankness  character- 
istic of  the  Southern  people,  that  he  had  been  all  wrong, 
that  many  of  these  pupils  exhibited  a  degree  of  mental  cul- 
ture which  would  do  credit  to  the  members  of  «hy  race. 
That  gentleman  said  further  that  he  once  thought  that  these 
Northern  teachers  came  South  to  stir  up  the  hatred  of  the 
negroes  against  their  old  masters,  but  he  was  now  con- 
vinced that  they  came  only  to  give  them  Christian  culture, 
and  that  there  must  be  thousands  of  people  at  the  North 
who  had  the  same  generous  feelings,  for  they  gave  the 
money  that  sustained  the  teachers.  In  like  manner  do  we 
hope  that  Fisk  University,  and  our  other  institutions  in  the 


'.VI  FlSK      I'MYKKSITY. 

South,  will  vindicate  the  intelligence  of  the  negrQ  and  the 
kindly  feelings  of  the  North. 

Some  of*  the  good  fruits  from  the  planting  of  Fisk  Univer- 
sity begin  to  appear.  It  once  had  a  thousand  pupils.  Now 
it  has  less,  but  its  graduates  and  students  are  teaching  nearly 
ten  thousand  scholars  in  the  South,  and  arc  carrying  the  bless- 
ings of  the  Gospel  with  them  into  every  home,  hamlet, 
school  and  church  where  they  are  located  as  teachers;  and 
this  influence  is  ever  widening  and  deepening.  A  bag  of 
wheat  can  only  be  eaten  or  sown — not  both — but  the  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual  food  these  student-teachers  take  with 
them  is  both  eaten  and  sown;  multiplying,  some  sixty  and 
some  an  hundred  fold! 

Other  results  of  these  institutions  in  the  South  are  yet  to 
appear.  The  negroes  have  gifts — a  wealth  of  gifts  in  song,  in 
eloquence,  and  in  warm  hearted  piety,  that  will  yet  enrich 
the  world.  The  Jubilee  Singers  are  my  proof  in  regard  to 
song;  many  of  their  lettered  and  unlettered  speakers  are 
evidence  of  their  native  eloquence;  and  their  emotions,  so 
warm  and  overflowing,  will,  when  cultured,  enkindle  and 
arouse  our  cold  business-like  Anglo-Saxon  religion.  Give 
them  the  Christian  light  and  they  will  repay  us  a  thousand 
fold! 

A  second  great  achievement  for  Europe  and  America  is 
religious  liberty.  Romanism  is  yet  to  make  its  last  battle  for 
supremacy.  It  must  rule  the  consciences  of  men,  and  direct 
the  education  of  the  children — or  die.  Rome  is  old  in  ex- 
perience. She  has  learned  to  watch  and  wait — to  be  bold 
when  she  can :  unassuming  when  she  must,  She  has  seen 
vicissitudes.  Her  popes  have  been  driven  from  their 
thrones;  and  they  have  mounted  the  saddle  when  kings 
menially  held  the  stirrup.  The  Reformation  swept  half  of 
Europe  from  her  grasp,  but  the  Jesuits  arose  for  her  defence, 
and  the  tide  was  suddenly  stayed.  We  admire  her  patience 
and  her  unconquerable  courage  while  we  fear  her  success. 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  35 

She  meets  the  battle  in  Spain,  Italy  and  Austria  with  the 
exultant  announcement  of  the  Infallibility.  She  struggles 
in  Germany  with  the  progress  of  the  age,  yielding  not  an 
inch  of  mediaeval  claim  to  authority.  England's  great 
statesman  discerns  the  coming  battle  ;  and  in  America  Ave 
sec  it  in  her  hostility  to  our  common  schools.  Rome  has 
long  discerned  her  danger  in  Europe  and  her  hope  in  Amer- 
ica. She  has  wisely  cast  her  anchor  to  windward  on  our 
shores. 

No  where  in  America  is  Rome  achieving  greater  success 
than  among  the  Freedmen  of  the  South.  Her  plans  for 
this  object  were  laid  and  publicly  announced  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  she  has  steadily,  quietly  and  persist- 
entlv  pushed  them  forward.  She  is  not  fitful  in  her  move- 
ments, nor  is  she  discouraged  by  hindrances.  It  would 
startle  the  Protestants  of  America  if  they  fully  understood 
her  success.  A  prominent  colored  man  has  openly  called 
his  whole  people  to  unite  with  that  strong  church,  and 
thus  make  her  still  stronger  to  protect  them.  It  is  said 
that  she  has  colleges  across  the  water,  to  educate  colored 
missionaries  to  send  among  the  Freedmen.  Her  schools 
here  for  colored  children  are  Well  sustained  and  increas- 
inglv  popular.  Her  Sisters  of  Charity  are  busy  and  her 
churches  are  open  to  blacks  and  whites  alike. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  she  has  no  hold  upon  the 
colored  people.  Her  open  door  to  them  ;  their  equal  stand- 
ing with  others  in  the  church  and  cathedral;  her  august 
service  and  rich  vestments,  attracting  the  eye  and  gratify- 
ing the  love  of  splendor,  appeal  to  their  manhood  and  to 
their  imagination.  It  may  be  that  before  Americans  are 
aware  of  the  danger,  Rome  may  add  the  voters  of  these  peo- 
ple to  the  obedient  masses  which  she  now  so  completely 
controls,  and  thus  her  political  supremacy  in  this  land  will 
be  assured.  We  are  to  meet  the  efforts  of  Rome  not  by 
denunciation,  but  by  zealous,  steady  and  prompt  measures 

3 


:}4  Fisk    University. 


for  popular  education  and  the  religious  culture  of  the 
Freedmen.  Let  us  do  our  part,  and  God  will  take  care  of 
the  result.  Fisk  University  will  take  her  place  in  the  work 
of  this  educational  and  Christian  enlightenment. 

A  third  achievement  before  us  is  the  enlargement  of  Mis- 
sionary efforts.  The  partition  of  the  Turkish  Empire  is  near 
at  hand.  The  effect  may  be  a  war  of  governments,  but  its 
political  results  will  touch  no  vital  human  interests.  In 
other  respects,  however,  the  consequences  will  be  deep  and 
far  reaching — and  in  none  more  than  in  the  extension  of 
missionary  labors.  England  will  possess  Egypt.  She  now 
has  her  canal — which  is  virtual  possession,  and  she  will 
sway  a  vast  influence  over  the  destiny  of  Africa — a  sway 
that  no  nation  is  more  entitled  to  hold,  or  will  wield  more 
wisely. 

Africa  is  the  land  of  mystery,  so  large  in  extent,  so  vast 
in  population  and  yet  so  unknown,  so  rich  in  its  undevel- 
oped resources,  so  strange  in  its  ruins  of  cities  of  grandest 
dimensions  now  standing  on  the  borders  of  trackless  des- 
erts, with  monuments,  pyramids  and  sphinxes  the  wonder 
of  the  world — a  land  so  bright  in  its  past  history,  dazzling 
with  galaxies  of  kings,  heroes,  sages,  saints  and  martyrs — 
a  land  now  so  dark  in  its  ignorance,  degradation  and  cru- 
elty, blighted  with  the  curse  of  fetisch  superstition,  Moham- 
medan arrogance,  and  the  unalloyed  evils  of  slavery  and 
the  slave-trade. 

It  is  the  shame  and  the  sorrow  of  the  church  of  Christ 
that  Africa  has  remained  so  long  in  her  present  darkness 
and  woe.  But  she  has  not  been  wholly  neglected.  The 
history  of  modern  missions  shows  no  more  heroie  self-denial, 
no  more  apostolic  consecration  than  has  been  exhibited  on 
the  shores  of  Africa.  Men  and  women  of  highest  culture 
and  position  from  all  Christian  lands  have  gone  there  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  nor  have  they  been  without  a  measure 
ofsuccess.      God  has  blessed  these  laborers,  and   a    few  of 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  35 

the  many  millions  have  heard  of  the  Saviour.  But  the  vast 
interior  and  long  reaches  of  coast  line  are  yet  the  "habita- 
tions of  cruel ty."  The  savage  hostility  of  the  people,  and 
still  more  the  merciless  and  unrelenting  slave-trade  bar  the 
way,  while  the  deadly  climate  has  speedily  and  remorse- 
lessly swept  to  premature  graves  the  devoted,  the  learned 
and  the  intrepid  missionaries. 

But  now  the  eyes  of  British  and  American  Christians  are 
turned  towards  the  Freedmex.  Has  not  God  a  great  work 
for  them  in  Africa  ?  Will  not  their  color  win  a  welcome 
for  them  in  the  land  of  their  fathers  ?  Will  not  the  climate 
be  less  fatal  to  them?  Is  there  not  a  call  here  that  will 
arouse  their  deepest  sympathies  and  move  their  noblest  en- 
deavors ?  Who  can  estimate  the  uplifting  power  of  a  great 
thought — of  a  heroic  purpose  ?  These  Freedmen  have  a 
grand  duty  to  perform  for  themselves  in  this  land,  but  how 
much  deeper  will  their  souls  be  stirred  if  they  can  be 
aroused  by  the  grander  impulse  to  carry  Christianity,  civil- 
ization and  empire  to  the  benighted  millions  of  Africa  ? 
American  Christians,  too,  will  feel  the  elevating  power  of 
the  great  thought,  that  the  slaves  they  have  just  freed  are 
to  be  trained  by  them  for  this  glorious  achievement.  Brit- 
ish Christians  have  long  felt  so  deep  an  interest  in  Africa 
that  their  hearts  will  be  deeply  moved  by  this  new  hope, 
and  a  stronger  tie  will  unite  British  and  American  Chris- 
tians, as  they  join  together  in  earnest  endeavor  to  lift  up  the 
long  oppressed  slave,  and  with  him  to  enlighten  and  save 
1  )enighted  Africa ! 

Fisk  University  is  dedicated  to-day  to  these  great 
achievements  for  God  and  humanity,  patriotic  for  America, 
helpful  to  pAirope  and  redeeming  to  Africa. 

I  have  a  pleasant  duty  yet  before  me.  Gen.  Fisk  has 
given  due  honor  to  those  who  have  been  helpful  in  the 
founding  and  growth  of  this  young  University — to  all  but 
himself.     1   may  step  in  where  his  modesty  halted.      The 


')(>  Fisk    Fxiversity. 

efficient  and  noble  services  of  Gen.  Fisk  at  the  beginning 
are  attested  in  part  by  the  bestowal  of  his  name  on  the  In- 
stitution. His  zeal  has  never  since  flagged,  and  in  the  late 
anxious  days  before  success  came  to  the  second  campaign 
of  the  Jubilee  Singers  in  Great  Britain,  his  wise  counsels 
and  timely  assistance  in  the  use  of  his  credit  and  money, 
are,  and  can  be,  known  only  to  the  few  of  us  who  were 
permitted  to  witness  his  cheerful  unselfish  spirit  and  his  ef- 
fective measures  for  present  relief  and  future  prosperity. 

I  would  say  more  of  him,  but  that  I  take  the  liberty  of 
saying  a  few  words  for  his  "better  half."  The  furniture  of 
the  rooms  in  this  building,  like  the  flowers  that  beautify 
the  plant  and  prepare  for  the  coming  fruitfulness, — this 
neat  and  substantial  furniture — is  largely  due  to  the  untir- 
ing efforts  and  the  good  taste  of  Mrs.  General  Fisk. 

The  band  played 

"Nearer  my  God  to  Thee." 

REMARKS  OF  REV.  G.  D.  PIKE. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty-six  years  ago,  a  Dutch  vessel 
brought  twenty  negro  slaves  for  sale  to  Jamestown,  Virginia. 
Fifty  years  thereafter  the  number  of  these  had  increased 
to  two  thousand.  During  these  fifty  years,  the  Governor 
of  Virginia  proclaimed,  "  I  thank  God  there  are  no  free 
schools,  nor  printing ;  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have,  these 
hundred  years — God  save  us  from  both."  So  it  was,  as  is 
known  and  read  of  all  men,  that  the  foundations  for  a  civ- 
ilization were  laid  in  the  degradation  of  labor,  but  those 
foundations  have  finally  given  way,  and  now  we  are  en- 
deavoring to  build  up  a  civilization  on  the  basis  of  free, 
remunerated,  educated,  and  Christian  labor.  I  need  not 
tell  you  that  such  civilization  is  virtually  an  experiment  in 
the  world,  or  that  of  all  people,  perhaps  the  negro  has  the 
irreatest  interest  in  it,     For  ten  vears  we  have  been   meas- 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  .*>7 

uring,  in  a  limited  way,  the  adaptability  of  this  experiment 
to  the  people  of  the  South.  We  are  met  to-day,  at  one 
of  the  important  centres,  where  the  doctrines  of  this  new 
civilization  are  taught  and  exemplified.  We  are  about  to 
dedicate  a  building  unmatched,  in  its  origin,  in  the  annals 
of  the  world ;  for  this  magnificent  edifice,  expresses  more 
than  the  renowned  and  praiseworthy  efforts  of  the  Jubilee 
Singers — more  than  the  tact  and  skill  of  every  one  who 
has  given  thought  and  labor  for  its  construction,  because 
it  was  only  made  possible  by  experiences  earlier  than 
emancipation.  The  price  thereof  came  from  stricken  souls 
who  in  times  of  grievous  sorrows,  burst  forth 

"  O  Lord,   O  my  good  Lord,  keep  me  from  sinking  down." 

It  was  built  with  the  coin  of  those  who,  in  their  seas  of 
trouble,  breathed  in  whispered  accents : 

ki  Steal  away,  steal  away,  steal  away  to  Jesus/' 

And  it  shall  ever  stand  a  monument  to  those  who  glori- 
fied with  hope,  blazing  heavenward,  midst  trials  and  afflic- 
tions, exultingly  sang, 

11  Didn't  my  Lord  deliver  Daniel, 

'liver  Daniel,  and  why  not  every  man  >" 

"Oh!  stand  the  storm  it  won't  be  long, 
We'll  anchor  by  and  by." 

This  building  represents  history  and  ideas.  It  stands  on 
the  boundary  line  betwixt  two  civilizations.  On  these 
grounds  a  fort  was  once  erected  for  defence,  but  this  edifice 
is  more  than  a  fort,  it  is  a  light-house  ;  yea,  it  is  more  than 
that,  it  is  a  University,  in  which  may  be  taught  the  prin- 
ciples that  will  shape  the  destiny  of  nations.  What  Ave 
say  here  will  not  largely  add  to  what  has  been  done. 
We  can  do  little  indeed  to  consecrate,  for  God  baptized 
this  enterprise  long  ago.  It  is  rather  for  us,  while  we 
stand  here,  to  dedicate  ourselves  to  the  unfinished  task  of 
placing  the    civilization    this  building  represents  beyond 


38  Fisk    University. 

peradventure.  It  is  for  us  to  take  on  new  devotion  with 
every  triumph  won  for  exact  justice,  and  a  reign  of  elevated 
industries  and  Christian  intelligence.  It  is  for  us  here,  to 
resolve  that,  God  helping  us,  our  nation  shall  be  redeemed 
and  made  typical  for  many  nations  yet  unborn.  The  long 
expected,  better  day,  is  being  ushered  in,  and  the  morning 
stars  are  singing  together  as  we  approach  the  epoch  of  the 
new  centennial  year.  It  is  for  us  to  resolve  that  this  new 
era,  born  out  of  slavery  and  war — and  spanned  with  a 
rainbow  of  promise — shall  never,  by  any  fault  of  ours, 
perish  from  the  earth  till  He,  who  so  signally  has  been  the 
black  man's  song  and  rejoicing — shall  reign  over  even 
nation,  in  every  land  and  every  sea.  Then  "  we  will  rise 
and  shine  and  give  God  the  glory — glory  for  the  year  of 
Jubilee.11 

REMARKS  OF  REV.  E.  P.  SMITH. 

It  is  eleven  years  and  two  weeks  since  I  was  follow- 
ing an  army  corps  out  of  the  city  on  the  turnpike  which 
leads  along  within  sight  from  the  door  of  this  Hall.  It 
was  the  morning  of  the  last  day  of  the  last  battle  of  the 
war  for  all  this  vicinity.  It  was  one  of  those  battles  on 
which  large  issues  were  turning — perhaps  the  issue  of  the 
war.  A  deep  anxiety  pervaded  the  city,  and  especially 
the  colored  population.  To  them  the  question  to  be  settled 
on  that  day  between  Hood  and  Thomas  was  one  of  destiny, 
and  before  night-fall,  the  victory  for  the  Union  and  for 
freedom  was  complete.  The  ranks  of  dead  colored  soldiers, 
filling  a  long  trench  dug  on  the  hill  side  in  front  of  our 
earthwork  where  the  fiercest  fighting  occurred,  testified  to 
the  part  borne  by  your  representatives  in  the  decisions  of 
that  day.  They  did  not  die  in  vain.  They  made  it  pos- 
sible for  this  occasion  to  summon  us  together  this  morning. 

A  few  days  before  this  battle,  I  met  an  old  negro  out 
near  the  picket  line.     He  was  bent  with  age  and  rheuma- 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  39 

tism.  and  his  short  hair  was  as  white  as  a  snow-ball.  He 
seemed  to  be  ont  for  a  recognizance  for  his  own  benefit. 
I  said  to  him:  "Uncle,  how  does  it  look?1'  "Dat's  it, 
marsa — dat's  just  what  I  was  stud'in'  on.*'  "Well,  what  do 
yon  think,  Avill  General  Hood  take  Nashville?"  "Dat's 
jnst  it.  Dat's  what  I  was  studin'  on  myself?  an'  I  reckon 
General  Hood  wont  come  into  Nashville."  "Why  not?" 
I  asked.  "  Bekase  he  couldn't  do  justice  to  hisself  in  here." 
The  old  man  gave  his  judgment  with  a  shake  of  his  white 
head  and  a  mien  of  face  as  wise  as  Solomon's,  but  he  an- 
swered wiser  than  he  knew.  If  General  Hood's  plans  of 
that  day  had  fully  succeeded,  they  would  have  brought  no 
lasting  credit  to  him,  while  they  would  have  inflicted 
untold  injury  upon  all  the  country,  and  fastened  a  mon- 
strous wrong  upon  the  colored  race.  They  would  have 
put  back  on  the  dial  of  time,  for  at  least  one  century,  the 
possibility  of  Jubilee  Songs  and  Jubilee  Hall.  Ay,  they 
would,  in  my  judgment,  have  rendered  Vanderbilt  Univer- 
sity, whose  structure  of  noble  architecture  on  yonder  hill 
seems  to  give  us  friendly  greeting  this  morning — erected 
by  Northern  benevolence,  dedicated  to  Christian  learning, 
and  standing  forth  as  a  land  mark  of  maturing  union  and 
fellowship  between  North  and  South— not  only  unlikely  but 
impossible  in  your  day  and  mine ;  and  I  believe  that  Gen. 
Hood  himself,  walking  through  this  Hall  and  looking  yon 
in  the  face  from  this  platform,  would  agree  with  us  that 
that  is  the  best  issue  of  human  plans  or  of  God's  provi- 
dences which  brings  the  largest  liberty,  and  best  oppor- 
tunity for  men  to  make  the  most  of  themselves  and  give 
most  to  their  fellow  men. 

In  August,  1865,  the  American  Missionary.  Association 
sent  two  of  its  officers  to  "prospect"  for  a  school  in  Nash- 
ville. The  Western  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  represented 
by  Prof.  John  Ogden,  was  here  before  them,  and  that  other 
man  whose  name  will  never  be  mentioned  in. the  hearing  of 


40  Fisk    I'mvkrsity. 

any  who  knew  him,  whether  friend  or  foe,  without  recall- 
ing the  life  of  a  man  who  could  not  live  selfishly, — Rev.  J. 
(J.  McKee, — the  pre-eminent  pioneer  friend  of  the  colored 
people  of  this  region.  Rev.  Mr.  Cravath,  now  your  honored 
President,  and  myself,  searched  this  city  through  to  find  a 
building  or  a  hall  which  could  be  rented  for  the  school. 
There  were  vacant  buildings,  but  none  for  a  colored  school. 
We  found  an  army  barrack  structure  belonging  to  the 
Government  which  could  be  made  to  insure  the  purpose 
for  which  we  were  sent,  the  establishment  of  a  primary 
school,  but  it  stood  upon  private  ground,  whose  owner, 
though  in  need  of  money,  was  not,  as  he  said,  4  so  low 
down  "  as  to  sell  or  rent  property  for  that  kind  of  business. 
At  last  in  our  search,  we  came  upon  the  group  of  hospital 
buildings  near  the  Chattanooga  depot,  The  ground  upon 
which  they  stood  could  be  purchased — if  it  was  only  known 
for  what  purpose — for  $16,000,  one-fourth  cash.  Prof. 
Ogden  joined  us,  and  together  by  using  all  we  had,  and 
borrowing  all  we  could,  we  raised  the  cash  payment  and 
gave  our  paper  and  a  mortgage  for  the  balance,  and  the 
infant  Fisk,  though  not  yet  named,  had  a  cradle. 

Of  the  early  days  of  that  school  I  will  not  speak.  Some 
of  you  know  them  by  heart.  I  wish  your  President  and 
his  wife  and  Prof.  Ogden  were  with  you  to-day.  What  it 
cost  then  and  costs  now  to  be  identified  with  and  respon- 
sible for  such  a  school,  none  of  us  who  have  not  tried  it 
can  know.  The  world  has  its  roll  of  honor,  and  sometimes 
the  names  and  deeds  inscribed  thereon  get  intermingled 
with  a  strange  incongruity ;  but  even  now  as  the  years  go 
by,  those  who  have  lived  and  died  unselfishly  for  others, 
are  steadily,  pushed  towards  the  top,  and  when  that  which 
is  in  part  has  passed,  and  we  know  as  we  are  known,  high 
up  among  those  who  followed  most  closely  in  the  foot  steps 
of  their  Great  Master,  and  are  best  fitted  for  the  purest  joy 
and  highest  duty  of  heaven,  will  be  found  the  names  of  the 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  41 

young  men  who  left  business  and  professional  prospects, 
and  cultured  Christian  women  who  gave  up  home  and 
consented  to  be  outcasts  in  this  city  from  society,  ay,  what 
is  called  Christian  society,  and  toiled  and  prayed  and 
hoped  through  those  early  years  in  the  old  barrack  build- 
ings. My  friends,  when  hereafter  the  question  is  asked, 
Who  originated  Fisk  University  ?  let  the  answer  be,  It  was 
founded  in  the  loving  patient  toil  of  its  first  teachers.  The 
result  of  such  lives  will  be  an  inspiration  to  all  who  shall 
come  to  this  Hall  of  learning.  In  that  result,  and  in  the 
lives  of  others  like  them,  will  be  found  the  index  finger 
pointing  to  the  crowning  benefit  of  this  University. 

My  young  friends,  students  of  this  University,  God  grant 
that  all  of  you,  and  all  that  come  after  you,  may  so  con- 
ceive of  the  true  end,  of  all  learning  and  all  living,  as  that 
the  lessons  and  opportunities  of  this  Hall  shall  fit  you  for 
no  small  part  in  the  great  Jubilee  Anthem  which  is  to 
celebrate  the  triumph  of  right  and  truth  over  all  the  earth. 

PRAYER  OF  DEDICATION. 

The  dedicatory  prayer  was  then  offered  by  Rev.  H.  S. 
Bennett,  Prof,  of  Theology  in  Fisk  University,  and  Pastor 
of  the  church. 

DELIVERING  THE  KEYS. 

Gen.  Fisk  paid  a  well  deserved  compliment  to  T.  C.  Stew- 
ard, the  superintendent  of  construction.  Mr.  Steward  had 
served  faithfully,  and  he  had  that  day  turned  over  the  keys 
of  the  University  to  the  Trustees.  For  the  excellent  work 
that  he  had  accomplished,  the  Trustees  thanked  him  most 
heartily. 

Gen.  Fisk  then  delivered  the  keys  to  Rev.  A.  K.  Spence, 
thanking  him  in  behalf  of  the  Trustees, and  of  the  American 
Missionary  Association,  for  the  fidelity  with  which  he  had 
kept  his  post  through  sunshine  and  storm. 

Prof.  Spence  said  that,  in  the  absence  of  the  President, 
he  took  the  keys  with  a  full  realization  of  the  responsibili- 


42  Fisk    University. 

ties  which  devolved  upon  himself  and  the  teachers  in  as- 
suming* charge  of  the  school.  Three  years  ago,  with  a  few 
friends  and  students,  they  had  repaired  to  this  hill.  In  be- 
half  of  the  faculty  he  had  lifted  the  first  spadeful  of  earth, 
Judge  Lawrence  had  lifted  the  second,  and  a  student,  af- 
terwards in  the  first  graduating  class,  had  lifted  the  third. 
He  spoke  of  the  inestimable  labors  of  George  L.  White/ 
Referring  to  the  services  of  the  day,  he  said  he  felt  much 
encouraged  by  the  assertion  of  Dr.  McFerrin,  that  the  in- 
telligent people  of  the  South  were  in  accord  with  them. 

The  Professor  closed  by  remarking  he  would  hold  the 
keys  in  behalf  of  the  Faculty,  promising  to  keep  the  build- 
ing sacred  to  the  great  cause  of  Education  and  Religion. 
[Great  applause.] 

The  Jubilee  Anthem  was  then  sung.  This  was  compos- 
ed in  England  for  the  occasion,  and  was  given  with  the  pe- 
culiar sweetness  of  tone  for  which  the  race  are  so  celebrated. 

Mr.  Holmes,  of  New  York,  offered  the  following  resolu- 
tion, which  was  adopted  by  a  rising  vote  : 

Resolved,  That  having  listened  with  great  interest  to  the 
historical  statements  regarding  Fisk  University,  and  recog- 
nizing the  valuable  services  under  God  of  all  officially  con- 
nected with  it  from  its  earliest  inception,  we  desire  especially 
to  bear  testimony  to  the  noble  efforts  of  the  Jubilee  Sing- 
ers, and  those  associated  with  them,  as  well  as  the  mam 
friends  at  home  and  abroad,  through  whose  joint  labors 
and  substantial  sympathy  the  funds  have  been  mainly  pro- 
vided for  the  erection  of  this  Jubilee  Hall. 

The  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  Mr.  Pike,  and 
the  vast  audience  was  dismissed. 

THE  SUPPER. 

At  six  o'clock  the  invited  guests,  about  three  hundred  in 
number,  were  conducted  to  the  dining  room  where  a  sub- 
stantial supper  was  spread.     Gen.  Fisk  presided. 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  43 

The  University  Choir  chanted  the  Lord's  Prayer,  as  the 
grace  before  meat;  When  the  supper  was  over,  Gen.  Fisk 
paid  a  well  deserved  tribute  to  the  Matron  of  the  Univer- 
sity, whose  skill  and  taste  were  manifest  in  the  preparation 
of  the  repast ;  and  to  the  students  of  the  University,  who, 
as  hungry  as  those  who  feasted,  yet  had  so  cheerfully  and 
handsomely  served  the  tables. 

Speeches  were  then  in  order. 

Mr.  Edgar  Ketchum  of  New  York,  Treasurer  of  the  Am- 
erican Missionary  Association,  being  first  called  upon,  res- 
ponded. He  said  he  had  two  objects  in  coming  here.  One 
was  to  attend  the  dedication  of  this  Hall  and  witness  the 
scene  of  fraternal  accord  now  before  him.  It  was  all  very 
cheering.  We  should  have  agreement  everywhere,  for  we 
were  one  people,  and  could  not  be  otherwise.  We  should 
be  brethren,  but  not  brethren  at  variance.  And  so  it  was 
good  to  hear  the  Rev.  Dr.McFerrin  that  morning  for  him- 
self and  his  people  welcome  among  them  this  Institution 
and  its  work  for  the  Freedmen.  His  other  object  was  to 
visit  the  Hermitage  where  dwelt  that  iron  man  Gen.  Fisk 
alluded  to  in  his  opening  address — that  man  beloved  and 
revered,  AndreAV  Jackson.  In  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  he 
gave  his  first  vote  for  him,  and  while  he  did  not  always  fol- 
low, he  had  always  honored  him.  He  gathered  some  leaves 
at  his  tomb  to  keep  in  remembrance  of  the  soldier  and 
statesman  avIio  cared  for  his  fellowmen  irrespective  of  their 
condition,  and  as  soldier  and  statesman  labored  for  their 
welfare.  We  of  this  generation  must  cherish  that  spirit  and 
follow  his  example  if  we  would  prosper  as  a  people. 

Professor  Spence  here  read  the  following  poem : 

Songs  from  the  Sunny  South  land. 

Songs   from   over  the   sea, 
Sougs   from  the   house   of   bondage. 

Songs   of  the   glad   and   free, 
They    sang,    those    children   of  sorrow, 

Those   children   of   dusky  hue^ 


44  FlSK      rXIYKRSITY. 

Strange    and    wild    were    their    accents, 
But    their    hearts    were    warm    and    true 

Echoes   from   unknown   ages, 

From   Afric's   distant   strand, 
Down   through    the   generations, 

To   wake   in   a   captive   land, 
They   brought   like   the   summer   breezes 

Blown   from   a   land    of   flowers, 
Like   the   voice   of  whispering   angels 

From   a    fairer   land   than    ours. 

They   caught    the   sweet   inspiration 

When  lulled    on    their   mother's   breast, 
As   at   evening  they   sang  of  heaven, 

Where   the  weary   are   at   rest ; 
And   they  saw    sweet   angels   coming 

To   carry   them   away, 
And    the    chariot    swinging   lower 

Through   the   gates   of   opening   day. 

Sometimes    their   songs  were    waitings 

Of  the   anguish-smitten    soul 
In   the   land   of   dark   perdition 

Where    tiery   billows   roll, 
And  their   strains   grew   wild   and   wilder, 

As  before   their   eyes   entranced 
Things   that   no   tongue   may   utter 

In   fearful   visions    danced. 

And   men   in   rapture   listened, 

And  strong  men   wept   to   see 
These  children   of  the   bondman, 

These   children   of  the   free, 
And   they   opened  up   their   coffers, 

And   they   poured   their  treasure   forth 
From  the   ocean   to   the   river, 

From   the    South   land   to   the   North. 

And    afar   o'er   the  restless   billow, 

Where   castles   are   gray   and   old, 
And   many   a   bard    of   sweetness 

Has   sung  to   a   harp   of  gold, 
Entranced  by  the   song  they   listened 

To  these   children   of  the   sun, 
And   many   a  tear   drop   glistened, 

And    many    a   heart    was   won. 

And   prayers    and   benedictions 

Were -theirs   from    many    a   breast; 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  &f 

They   sang   so   sweet    and   mildly, 

So   sad,    as   when   oppressed; 
And   they   stood   among  the   great   men 

In   the   palaces   of   earth — 
They   from   the   house   of   bondage, 

They   of   servile    birth. 

And   aloud   they   sang   in   triumph, 

They  sang  of  the  Jubilee, 
When   broken   is   every   fetter 

And   the   sons   of  men   go   free, 
In   the   age   of  peace   so   golden 

That   the   prophets   have   seen   so   plain, 
When   men   shall   be   friends   and   brothers, 

And   Christ   Himself   shall  reign. 

Oh    Africa,    land    of   shadow, 

Oh   Africa,    land   of   song, 
Land   of  long  night's   oppression, 

Land  of  sorrow  and  wrong. 
Thy   echoes   return   unto   thee, 

Bearing  on   golden   wing 
The   tidings   of   earth's   salvation. 

The   song  that   the   angels   sing. 

Oh    songsters   of   liquid   sweetness. 

Songsters  of  beauteous  lay. 
Sing  on   of  the   glad   hereafter. 

Sing  of  the  blessed  to-day. 
Sing  to   the  listening  nations 

The  song  so  new  and  old, 
Till   the   echoes   are  caught   by  the   angels 

In   the   city   whose   streets   are   gold. 

Mr.  Samuel  Holmes,  of  New  York,  after  some  humorous 
remarks  and  incidents,  expressed  the  earnest  hope  that  the 
institution  dedicated  to-day  would  be  prospered  in  the 
noble  work  for  which  it  was  founded — to  elevate  and  bless 
man  kind.  We  are  not  working  for  ourselves  but  for 
others. 

Judge  Lawrence  responded  by  remarking  that  his  hope 
for  the  elevation  of  humanity  by  means  of  education  was 
confirmed  by  this  day's  exhibition.  He  thought  the  work 
— the  special  work  before  us — had  but  just  begun,  and  he 
trusted  it  would  go  forward  with  steady  progress  hence- 
forth. 


4(>  Fisk    University. 

J.  D.  Burrus,  a  graduate  of  Fisk  University,  said  that 
the  graduating  class  of  last  year  were  deeply  interested  in 
the  work  of  education,  and  of  lifting  up  those  around  them. 
He  wanted  to  see  Tennessee  dotted  all  over  with  Fisk 
University  students.  In  behalf  of  the  class,  he  returned 
thanks  to  the  American  Missionary  Association,  also  to  the 
officers  of  Fisk  University  for  the  many  courtesies  extended 
them.  No  matter  where  they  wentj  they  would  cherish 
their  association  with  Fisk  University,  and  always  consider 
this  their  home. 

Judge  H.  H.  Harrison  congratulated  Gen.  Fisk,  the 
teachers  and  the  students.  He  was  glad  to  see  that  the 
prejudices  which  has  served  to  blight  this  section  were  fast 
melting  away.  What  was  wanted  in  this  country  was 
more  liberality  on  questions  affecting  all  the  people  and 
their  posterity.  He  was  hopeful,  and  believed  that  a 
bright  and  glorious  future  was  in  store  for  us. 

J.  J.  Cary  said  that  no  one  would  have  thought  that  the 
school  on  Knowles  street  would  culminate  in  this  grand 
building.  They  should  not  forget  it ;  but  should  remember 
and  thank  the  God  who  had  done  so  much  for  them. 

Dr.  Phillips  was  the  next  speaker.  Very  much  had  been 
accomplished,  and  they  had  great  hopes  for  the  future. 
This  was  only  a  beginning,  and  they  ought  to  thank  Him, 
who  ruleth  all  things,  for  what  had  been  done  in  the  last 
ten  years.  He  felt  as  much,  for  the  white  man  as  for  the 
colored  man,  and  in  the  work  in  which  he  was  engaged,  the 
white  man  would  be  indirectly  reached.  He  hoped  that 
much  good  would  be  accomplished  within  the  next  decade. 

Prof.  Chase  was  then  called  on,  and  responded  in  words 
of  exhortation  to  stand  by  the  work  begun.  Now,  that 
the  University  had  been  started,  it  must  not  be  thought 
that  the  labor  was  ended.  There  was  still  much  to  be 
done.  Not  only  must  they  labor  to  build  up  the  Univer- 
sity; they  must  so  educate  the  people  that  there  would.be 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  47 

a  demand  for  the  higher  branches  of  education.  The  next 
ten  years  would  cost  a  deal  of  labor.  They  must  pray  to 
God  that  He  would  build  up  an  University,  indeed. 

Capt.  D.  W.  Peabody  suggested  that  Rev.  W.  R.  Cobb 
take  his  place.  Mr.  Cobb  said  the  students  of  Fisk  Uni- 
versity must  educate  themselves  if  they  would  break  down 
the  walls  of  prejudice.  Let  them  go  forward,  trust  in  the 
good  God  and  all  would  be  well. 

Rev.  E.  P.  Smith  and  Gen.  Fisk  added  further  tributes 
to  the  memory  of  Rev.  J.  G.  McKee. 

Gen.  Fisk,  in  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  gave  a  brief 
review  of  the  day's  exercises. 

All  sang  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee/'  and  the  exercises 
were  brought  to  a  close. 


THE  SABBATH  SERVICES. 

January  2,   1876. 

The  services  of  the  forenoon  were  under  the  direction 
of  the  pastor  of  the  church,  Rev.  H.  S.  Bennett. 

The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  M.  E.  Strieby,  from 
the  words  in  Gal.  5  :   1. 

u  Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  us  free}  and  be  not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage." 

After  the  sermon,  the  Communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  administered ;  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Smith  and  the  Rev.  W. 
S.  Alexander  officiating  in  the  services. 

In  the  afternoon  at  3  o'clock,  a  large  audience  listened 
to  a  very  interesting  and  instructive  lecture  on  Africa,  by 
Rev.  G.  D.  Pike.  The  lecture  was  delivered  under  the 
auspices  of  the  "  Society  for  the  Evangelization  of  Africa" 
— a  society  recently   organized   by  the   students  of  Fisk 


48  Fisk    Tnivkusity. 

I  liiversity,  and  which  has  taken  a  strong  hold  upon  their 
hearts.  The  members  pledge  themselves  to  do  what  they 
can  to  evangelize  Africa — to  pray,  give,  or  go,  as  God 
shall  call. 

ADDRESS  OF  REV.  GUSTAVUS  D.  PIKE. 

THE    POSSIBILITIES    OE    AFRICAN    CIVILIZATION. 

Mr.  President  and  Brethren — The  continent  of  Africa 
contains  nearly  a  fourth  part  of  the  dry  land  on  the  face 
of  the  globe,  and  a  coast  line  of  16,000  miles  in  extent. 
If  yon  should  journey  from  the  diamond  fields  of  South 
Africa  to  the  straits  of  Gibraltar,  north,  you  would  find  the 
distance  about  5,000  miles.  If  you  should  traverse  the 
continent — from  Cape  Guardafui  on  the  east,  to  Cape  Yerde 
on  the  west  coast — the  journey  would  occupy  you  many 
months,  and  extend  over  a  distance  of  more  than  4,500 
miles. 

At  the  outset,  it  is  fitting  to  observe  that  there  is  nothing 
cither  in  the  nature  of  this  continent,  or  the  origin  of  its 
people  that  precludes  the  idea  of  a  high  state  of  civilization. 

The  ruins  of  cities  and  monuments  south  of  the  Lybian 
Desert  in  Ancient  Ethiopia ;  the  vast  armies  that  came 
up  from  them,  like  that  of  Zerah's,  who  went  forth  against 
King  Asa  with  a  million  men  and  three  hundred  chariots  ; 
the  great  wealth  and  wisdom  represented  in  persons  like 
the  Queen  of  Sheba  ;  have  led  many  to  believe  that  civili- 
zation had  its  origin  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  in  Negroland. 
Indeed,  Herodotus  wrote  for  us  four  hundred  years  before 
the  annunciation,  that  the  Egyptians  came  up  from  Ethio- 
pia ;  however  this  may  be,  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  early 
existence  of  a  very  powerful  Egyptian  civilization.  This 
is  well  attested  by  ancient  Thebes,  with  its  four  millions  of 
people,  its  vast  armies,  its  massive  walls,  with  an  hundred 
gates,  its  knowledge  of  geometry,  astronomy,  and  many  an 
art  that  has  since  been  lost. 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  49 

It  is  attested  also  by  Alexandria,  which  for  seventeen 
hundred  years  was  the  chief  maritime  city  of  the  world ; 
the  birthplace  of  Clement,  Apollos  and  Origen ;  the  seat 
of  the  largest  library  of  ancient  days,  and  of  a  magnificent 
light-house,  built  by  the  Ptolemies,  which  for  ages  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world.  Add  to 
all  this  the  history  of  Egyptian  pyramids,  tombs,  mummies, 
sphinxes,  obelisks,  hieroglyphics,  paintings  and  statuary, 
and  we  have  evidence  of  an  African  civilization  not  only 
most  remote,  but  most  powerful. 

Then  there  was  ancient  Carthage  from  which  fleets  of 
ships  whitened  the  waters  of  every  sea,  and  landed  its 
colonists  in  countries  known  and  unknown,  while  Hannibal, 
one  of  the  greatest  of  generals,  reversed  its  destinies  in  the 
second  Punic  war.  Without  controversy,  so  far  as  I  know, 
these  Ethiopians,  Egyptians  and  Carthaginians  were  the 
descendants  of  Ham,  and  if  it  be  said  that  they  did  not  ex- 
hibit the  characteristics  of  the  tropical  negro,  I  argue  that 
the  tropical  negro  is  best  accounted  for  on  the  supposition 
that  he  sprang  from  these  people,  and  became  what  he  is 
on  account  of  the  climatic  influence  of  malarial  Africa  and 
the  debasing  tendencies  of  the  slave  trade. 

Tli  is  brings  me  to  observe, 

I.     The  possibilities  of  African   civilization  were  long  ob- 
scured by  slavery  and  the  slave-trade. 

These  date  back  at  least  to  the  time  when  the  Midianites 
bo ught  Joseph  and  took  him  down  to  Egypt.  The  pictures 
upon  the  walls  of  temples  and  the  mummies  found  in  tombs 
indicate  also  that  slaves  were  employed  in  the  days  of  the 
Pharaohs.  The  Carthaginians,  five  hundred  years  before 
the  death  of  our  Lord,  manned  their  navies  with  negro 
slaves.  The  Greeks  and  the  Romans  purchased  black  Af- 
ricans on  account  of  their  singular  appearance  and  affec- 
tionate natures.    During  the  Middle  Ages  large  numbers  of 

4 


50  FlSK      FXIVKHSITV. 

natives  from  the  kt  land  of  the  moon'1  were  stolen  and 
pressed  into  the  armies  of  Arabia  and  Persia.  Before  the 
voyages  of  Columbus,  the  Portuguese  people  imported  as 
many  as  10,000  slaves  a  year;  while,  during  the  days  of 
Ameriean  slavery,  100,000  black  men — mostly  from  the 
gorilla  country  of  West  Africa — were  brought  to  Brazil, 
the  West  Indies,  and  the  United  States.  As  many  as  16,00$ 
men  are  occupied  the  year  round  in  the  Nile  basin  procur- 
ing slaves  for  the  markets.  One  merchant  at  Khartoom  in 
Ethiopia,  has  2,500  men  in  his  employment,  pursuing  this 
business,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for  ivory  merchants,  who 
are  in  reality  slave  traders,  to  take  an  army  of  5,000  sol- 
diers with  them,  in  their  marauding  campaigns,  for  plun- 
dering villages  and  tribes  of  their  boys  and  girls. 

The  blighting  influence  of  this  when  reckoned  up  for 
periods  of  thousands  of  years,  cannot  be  estimated.  Slave- 
are  bound  together  by  chains,  or  yoked  with  limbs  from 
trees,  and  crowded  into  boats,  where  they  sometimes  die  in 
heaps,  and  are  thrown  overboard.  Others  are  chained  in 
gangs  while  traveling  over  long  stretches  of  country,  till  a 
large  majority  of  them  perish,  either  by  hunger,  or  thirst, 
or  pitiless  lashings,  or  an  unendurable  heaviness  of  heart. 
Others  become  unable  to  march,  and  fall  a  prey  to  wild 
beasts,  or  meet  death  in  some  other  way.  Sometimes  men 
are  left  lying  in  their  own  blood,  while  defenceless  women 
are  bound  to  trees,  and  children  abandoned  to  die  alone. 
This  condition  of  things  is  now — and  has  been  for  centu- 
ries— so  far  as  we  know,  the  fate  of  from  300,000  to 
1,000,000  black  people  every  year.  Well  may  the  voice  of 
the  church  of  Christ  cry,  uOh,  Lord,  how  long!"  and  well 
might  Dr.  Livingstone  affirm,  u  To  overestimate  the  evils 
of  slavery  is  simply  impossible.  The  sights  I  have  seen. 
though  common  incidents,  are  so  nauseating  1  always  strive 
to  drive  them  from  my  memory;  but  slavery  scenes  come 
back  unbidden  and  make  me  start  up  at  dead  of  night, 
horrified  at  their  vividness.'' 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  51 

The  Mohammedans,  who  are  the  great  slave  hunters  of 
Africa,  number  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  people, 
and  vast  hordes  of  these  occupy  a  portion  of  the  continent 
equal  in  extent  to  Europe.  They  believe  in  the  divine 
right  of  slavery  and  furnish  the  chief  markets  for  the  traf- 
fic. It  is  unnecessary  to  affirm  that  this  condition  of  things 
is  evermore  antagonistic  to  the  progress  of  civilization,  but 
from  these  dark  eras  of  history  the  cloud  is  beginning  to 
break. 

In  1792,  the  people  of  Denmark  abolished  the  trade  in 
that  country.  Then  after  a  long  struggle  it  was  abolished 
by  the  British  Parliament  in  1807,  and  by  France  in  1815. 

In  1815,  also,  representatives  of  eight  European  powers 
met  and  pledged  their  respective  governments  to  the  work 
of  putting  an  end  to  the  slave  trade,  which  they  declared 
had  too  long  desolated  Africa,  degraded  Europe,  and  af- 
flicted humanity.  Since  then  the  trade  lias  been  practi- 
cally outlawed  by  civilized  nations,  while  the  British  Gov- 
ernment expends  at  present  $700,000  per  year  for  its 
suppression.  Efforts  for  the  overthrow  of  slavery  in  Ameri- 
ca are  too  recent  to  require  mention  here.  I  will  just  call 
attention,  however,  to  what  has  been  done  by  the  Khedive 
of  Egypt,  through  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  who  penetrated  to 
the  equatorial  regions  of  Africa,  and  broke  up,  for  the  time 
being,  the  slave  trade  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  For  al- 
though so  much  was  not  accomplished  by  this  campaign  as 
was  desired,  nevertheless,  by  it,  the  Khedive  advertised  his 
hostility  to  the  system,  and  laid  foundations  for  better 
things  to  come. 

II.  The  possibilities  of  African  civilization  have  been 
enhanced  by  the  intrepid  efforts  of  heroic  explorers. 
Among  the  earliest  of  these  was  James  Bruce,  who  ex- 
plored Abyssinia,  and  concluded  he  had  discovered  the 
source  of  the  Nile.  Mungo  Park,  however,  takes  rank  as 
the  pioneer  explorer,  inasmuch  as  he  entered  Africa  by  the 


52  FlSK      rxIVKKSITV. 

west  const,  and  proceeded  to  the  river  Niger,  and  discov- 
ered in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  not  only  a  most  wonder- 
ful river,  but  cities  with  walls,  and  mosques  and  courts  of 
justice  and  schools  of  learning.  So  great  was  the  enthu- 
siasm awakened  by  Mungo  Park  that  the  British  govern- 
ment appropriated  money  for  further  explorations,  which 
resulted  in  the  ultimate  discovery  of  the  course  and  outlet 
of  the  Niger,  and  the  fertile  country  and  interesting  people 
along  its  banks. 

Then  followed  the  settlement  of  Sierra  Leone,  Liberia, 
the  delta  of  the  Niger,  and  other  lands,  by  English-speak- 
ing people.  South  of  the  Niger,  the  country  was  explored 
by  Du  Chaillu,  Andresson,  and  many  others.  Greater  in- 
terest, however,  has  been  awakened  in  South  Africa  by 
such  men  as  Barrow,  Moffatt  and  Dr.  Livingstone.  The 
latter  crossed  South  Africa  from  east  to  west,  explored  the 
Zambezi  river  and  reached  the  Nyassa  lake  and  the  Shire 
country.  Later  on  he  penetrated  to  the  very  heart  of  the 
continent,  south  of  the  equator,  visiting  mountains,  lakes, 
rivers  and  people,  before  unknown  in  the  annals  of  the 
civilized  world. 

When  I  had  the  honor  of  taking  lunch  with  the  Duke  of 
Argyle,  in  London,  at  the  time  the  Queen  of  England  heard 
the  Jubilee  Singers,  His  Grace  the  Duke  asked  me  if  I  had 
learned  that  a  great  lake  system  of  700  miles  in  extent  had 
been  discovered  near  the  equator,  in  Africa.  Subsequently. 
T  learned  that  one  lake  of  this  system  was  the  Tanganyika, 
extending  south  to  the  7th  degree  of  latitude,  discovered 
by  Lieut.  Burton,  and  visited  by  Henry  M.  Stanley,  when 
on  his  expedition  for  the  relief  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  indeed, 
he  first  met  the  doctor  on  the  shores  of  this  lake.  Another 
lake  of  this  system,  was  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  discovered  by 
( 'apt.  Speke,  and  recently  explored  by  Stanley,  and  found 
to  be  an  inland  sea,  equal  in  area  to  Lake  Huron.  The 
third  great  tropical  lake  is  the   Albert  Nyanza,  discovered 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  53 

by  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  and  about  to  be  explored  by  Col. 
Gordon,  who,  when  last  heard  from,  had  already  taken  a 
steel  steamer  to  a  navigable  point  in  the  river  leading  from 
the  vast  expanse  of  this  lake.  Dr.  Schweinfurth,  the  Ger- 
man botanist,  within  a  few  years,  has  brought  to  our  know- 
ledge the  characteristics  of  many  tribes  farther  south-west 
in  northern  Africa  than  any  other  explorer  of  recent  jreaua 
— telling  of  cannibals,  pigmies,  and  half-civilized  tribes  in 
equatorial  regions,  where  the  people  inhabit  a  country 
adorned  with  beauties  worthy  of  paradise  itself. 

These  travelers,  and  many  others,  have  advertised  Afri- 
ca until,  at  the  present  day,  it  excites  more  interest  than  an y 
other  country  in  the  world. 

IIL  The  possibilities  of  African  civilization  have  been 
largely  illustrated  by  the  sacrifices  and  success  of 
Christian  missionaries. 

These  have  followed  closely  upon  the  heels  of  the  ex- 
plorers, and  have  often  become  explorers  themselves. 

By  their  labors  they  have  illuminated  almost  every  shore 
of  that  vast  continent.  You  will  find  them  in  numbers  in 
Algeria.  I  have  visited  them  in  Egypt,  where  success  at 
present  is  easily-  won,  and  where,  for  most  of  the  year, 
white  people  can  live  and  labor  in  comfort.  They  were 
planted  more  than  a  century  ago  in  Abyssinia,  where  the 
people  have  a  traditional  Christianity,  dating  far  back  into 
the  ages. 

In  eastern  Africa,  the  labors  of  Dr.  Kraff  led  to  the  ex- 
peditions of  Burton  and  Speke,  and  the  discovery  of  great 
lakes.  It  was  here  that  the  Methodist  missionary,  Charles 
New,  on  account  of  the  deadly  malaria,  sought  the  base  <>;' 
the  famous  Snow  mountain,  hoping  that  an  altitude  might 
be  found  upon  it  where  the  air  would  be  salubrious,  and 
permit  of  missionary  labors  without  risk  of  life,  and  near 
here  he  died  a  martyr  to  his  devotion. 

I  remember,   when   in    London,   listening,    with    great 


.">4  Fisk    I'mvkksitv. 

interest,  to  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  who  having  just  returned 
from  this  coast,  manifested  a  deep  and  hopeful  interest  in 
all  the  missionaries  had  done.  Farther  down  on  the  coast 
is  the  Zulu  land  and  the  Cape  regions,  where  as  many  as 
sixteen  missionary  societies  have  established  their  stations. 
and  where  the  diamond  fields  are  attracting,  not  only 
commerce,  but  missionaries  inland.  Then  just  off  this  coast 
is  Madagascar,  which  illustrates  what  God  is  able  to  do  in 
these  tropics,  and  what  he  is  willing  to  do  as  well. 

But  the  great  work  of  the  missionaries  in  Africa,  when 
measured  by  sacrifice  or  success,  has  been  achieved  on  the 
west  coast.  Here,  nearly  eighty  years  ago,  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  broke  ground,  and  here  they  have 
prosecuted  their  work  with  great  energy.  The  Wesleyans 
soon  followed  the  Church  Society,  and  to-day  are  doing 
more  than  any  other  denomination  on  that  continent.  The 
Germans  have  sustained  missions  on  this  coast  for  neatly 
fifty  years,  and  by  their  industrial  schools  have  introduced 
a  neAV  era  in  the  history  of  African  missions.  The  colony 
of  Liberia  is  here,  and  the  Mendi  mission  of  the  American 
Missionary  Association.  And  another  still,  not  the  least  in 
significance,  is  the  mission  of  the  black  Bishop  Crowther, 
on  the  delta  of  the  Niger.  Along  the  western  coast  there 
are  now  estimated  to  be  150  churches,  with  20,000  hopeful 
converts,  200  schools  with  20,000  children  under  instruc- 
tion. Twenty-five  dialects  have  been  mastered,  into  which 
portions  of  the  Scriptures  have  been  translated  and  printed. 
Through  all  these  agencies  as  many  as  six  millions  of  de- 
graded heathen  have  been  reached  by  the  truth,  which  is 
able  to  make  them  free.  Wherever  the  missionaries  have 
long  wrought,  towns,  churches  and  schools  have  sprung  up. 
and  commerce  has  gained  a  healthful  impulse. 
IV.  The  possibilities  of  African  civilization  are  seen  in  the 
nature  and  increase  of  African  commerce. 

From  the  remotest  ages,  Africa  has  been  pouring  her 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Ha 


i.i. 


wealth  among  the  nations,  and  what  is  a  little  singular,  she 
has  received  but  small  returns  for  it.  Abraham  went  down 
to  Egypt  for  corn,  but  the  Syrians  did  not  cany  corn  to 
Egypt,  The  Israelites  went  to  the  granaries  of  Joseph, 
hut  when  they  came  out  of  the  country,  they  borrowed  the 
jewels  of  the  Egyptians,  and  took  them  to  the  promised 
land.  We  find  ivory  from  Africa  in  almost  every  household. 
but  the  products  of  America  are  not  plenty  in  the  Soudan. 
We  buy  palm  oil  from  the  Gold  Coast,  and  give  the  natives 
New  England  Rum  for  it.  We  have  become  enriched  by 
the  productions  of  the  slaves,  but  they  have  not  been  en- 
riched by  us.  And  so  we  see  all  through  the  history  of 
Africa. 

She  has  given  to  us,  but  we  have  given  very  little  indeed 
to  her.  It  may  be  worth  while,  however,  in  considering  our 
subject  to  notice  what  commerce  has  been  developed  in 
Africa  during  the  past  50  years.  I  was  recently  informed 
that  the  best  of  leather  is  now  manufactured  from  hides 
brought  from  Africa.  All  manner  of  spices  and  gums  come 
from  this  land.  Indigo  grows  there  spontaneously,  and  is 
shipped  from  thence  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  The 
diamonds  from  its  south-land  sparkle  upon  a  thousand 
bosoms,  and  the  gold  from  the  Ashantee  land  and  eastern 
Africa  fills  many  a  rich  treasury.  Cotton  from  Ethiopia 
finds  its  way  down  to  the  Red  Sea,  one  planter  alone  ship- 
ping as  many  as  25,000  bales. 

The  cotton  of  Egypt  yields  a  revenue  almost  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  the  government.  No  other  country  to 
my  knowledge  produces  such  variety  of  precious  woods  ; 
dye  woods — ebony  and  other  kinds  which  admit  of  a 
beautiful  finish. 

Zoological  gardens  are  recruited  from  Africa,  where  more 
than  an  hundred  kinds  of  animals  are  found,  not  known  to 
other  climes. 

So  many  are  the  varieties  of  vegetable,  mineral  and  other 


56  FlSK     rMVKHSITV. 

productions  that  it  wore  fruitless  to  attempt  to  mention 
them  all — suffice  it  to  say  that  on  a  strip  of  country  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa  the  British  have  increased  their  com- 
merce till  it  equals  $15,000,000  per  year.  The  palm  oil 
trade  in  the  delta  of  the  Niger,  has  grown  from  a  business 
that  produced  200  tons  per  year,  not  very  long  ago,  to  one 
of  50,000  tons  per  year.  An  idea  of  the  American  trade 
may  be  gained  by  the  inventory  of  a  single  cargo  shipped 
from  the  west  coast  to  New  York.  This  cargo  contained 
100,000  pounds  of  ginger,  100,000  pounds  of  sugar,  90 
tons  of  dye  stuffs,  54,000  pounds  of  coffee,  10,000  gallons 
of  palm  oil  and  500  pounds  of  ivory. 

Commerce  in  all  these  things  is  rapidly  increasing,  and 
with  these  increased  facilities,  commerce  acts  as  a  most  effi- 
cient agency  for  the  advancement  of  civilization.  Already 
lias  the  Khedive  of  Egypt  opened  up  the  Suez  canal.  He 
has  also  built  1,100  miles  of  railway  in  northeastern  Africa, 
and  is  constructing  a  railway  across  the  desert  to  Khar- 
toom  at  the  junction  of  the  Blue  and  White  Nile,  in  ancient 
Ethiopia,  with  a  prospect  of  a  commerce  of  $100,000,000 
per  year,  not  long  after  this  steam  communication  shall  be 
opened.  Then  another  road  is  planned  on  the  west  coast 
near  the  Niger,  and  still  another  by  the  French,  from 
Morocco  to  Timbuctoo  across  the  desert,  obtaining  a  water- 
supply  by  boring  artesian  wells.  And  as  the  wind  blows 
in  one  direction  many  months,  it  will  not  be  strange  if  we 
hear  of  some  enterprising  aeronaut,  who  will  send  balloons 
on  aerial  voyages  across  the  sea  of  sand  to  the  fertile 
grounds  of  the  great  lakes.  However  this  may  be,  it  is 
sure  that  commerce  is  fast  revolutionizing  the  condition  of 
things  in  many  portions  of  this  wonderful  continent, 

Y.     The  possibilities  of  African  civilization  are  seen  in*  the 
developments  under  the  Khedive  of  Egypt. 
He  seems  to  have  been   chosen  to  revolutionize  Africa 
from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  great  Equatorial  lakes.      He 


Dedication  of  Jtbilee  Hall.  57 

is  the  foremost  man  that  has  appeared  in  the  East  for  many 
generations.  Educated  in  Europe,  he  seeks  to  Americanize 
Egypt.  He  possesses  capacities  for  endurance  equal  to  the 
first  Napoleon.  His  sagacity  is  said  to  be  matchless,  and 
his  dispatch  almost  electric.  The  Suez  canal  was  com- 
menced in  the  days  of  the  Ptolemies,  but  no  man 
proved  himself  competent  to  complete  it  till  this  man  came. 
Six  years  ago  he  ordered  a  survey  between  Kennah  on 
the  Nile  and  Cosseir  on  the  Red  sea.  When  the  report 
was  made,  he  reflected  a  moment :  "  Build  a  telegraph 
from  Kennah  to  the  Red  sea  in  six  weeks ;  report  to  me  at 
the  end  of  that  time  ;"  and  the  wires  were  in  working  order 
according  to  his  command.  Mr.  South  worth,  of  New  York, 
on  his  return  to  Egypt  from  Ethiopia,  secured  an  audience 
with  the  Khedive,  and  conversed  with  him  freely  in  regard 
to  his  contemplated  railway  across  the  desert,  saying  withal, 
that  it  would  cost  four  or  five  millions  of  pounds.  To 
which  the  Khedive  replied  :  "What  is  that ;  what  are  six 
or  eight  millions  if  you  obtain  results.  I  shall  build  the 
road,  and  the  nations  you  have  seen  in  savagery  and  pov- 
erty will,  I  trust,  in  ten  years  become  a  thrifty  and  united 
people.  The  Mohammedans  call  the  Khedive  an  infidel — 
and  perhaps  he  is — for  he  believes  the  steamboat  and  steam 
engine  are  the  best  missionaries  at  present  for  Africa.  Was 
it  not  Isaiah  who  said,  "  Make  straight  in  the  desert  a  high 
way  for  our  God !  Even  by  the  springs  of  water  shall  he 
guide  them  "  ?  In  view  of  these  things,  what  person  is 
there  in  Christendom  who  would  not  cry  out,  "  Cast  up, 
cast  up  the  highway ;  say  ye  to  the  daughters  "  of  Ethiopia, 
•'behold  thy  salvation  cometh"  ?  It  is  well  known  that  within 
a  few  years  the  Khedive  has  brought  vast  portions  of  the 
Soudan  into  the  area  of  his  dominions,  and  that  he  now 
governs  a  portion  of  Africa  extending  to  regions  south  of 
the  Equator.  These  lands  to  which  he  has  penetrated  ex- 
tend 4,500  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  are  said  to  be  un- 


")S  KlSK     I:XIYKRSITV. 

surpassed  in  richness.  The  Consul-General  of  Soudan  said 
to  a  traveler,  "  Tell  the  Americans  I  have  discovered  a  new 
A  in  erica  in  Africa." 

In  Ethiopia  there  are  one  hundred  and  forty  million  acres 
of  the  best  land  in  the  world,  on  which,  without  the  use  of 
the  plough,  three  crops  of  cotton  can  he  managed  by  one 
man  in  a  single  year.  This  land  can  be  had  two  acres  for 
a  dollar,  and  when  the  railroad  to  Shendy  is  completed,  the 
crop  can  be  taken  to  Liverpool  in  less  time  than  is  required 
for  transportation  from  the  American  cotton  fields.  To 
this  it  may  be  added  that  a  cotton  growing  mania  is  rapidly 
extending  over  this  portion  of  Africa,  while  cotton  cloth 
is  the  money  in  the  equatorial  regions.  Mr.  Stanley  was 
obliged  to  take  one  hundred  men  and  load  them  with  cloth 
in  order  to  make  his  way  through  African  villages.  All 
travelers  and  slave  merchants  are  obliged  to  load  great 
caravans  with  cloth,  while  pursuing  their  vocation  in  that 
land.  Give  the  people  of  these  latitudes  protection,  and  a 
market  that  shall  afford  them  a  fair  return  for  their  labor, 
and  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  millions  of  beings  will 
spring  with  alacrity  to  avail  themselves  of  the  possibilities 
that  would  in  this  way  be  open  before  them. 

The  Khedive  of  Egypt  promises  these  advantages  to 
eastern  Africa,  and  the  British  Protectorate  to  the  tribes 
on  the  west  coast.  The  limit  of  African  civilization  is  only 
bounded  by  the  capacity  of  its  people. 

YI.     This  leads  me  to  observe  in  the  sixth  place  that  the 

possibilities  of  African  civilization  may  be  predicated 

among  other  things  from  the  capacity  of  the  negro. 

Prefatory  to  statements  under  this  head,  it  is  fitting  to 

observe  that  civilization  can  never  be  developed  in  tropical 

Africa  by  white  men. 

When  Mungo  Park  took  forty  white  soldiers  to  visit  the 
Niger,  thirty  of  them  died  before  they  reached  the  banks 
of  that  river.      When    Lieut.  Gordon  with  eleven  men  at- 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  88 

tempted  to  defend  a  fort  in  Liberia,  eight  of  the  eleven  died 
in  four  weeks.  Out  of  seventeen  missionaries  sent  by  the 
Germans  to  the  Gold  Coast,  ten  died  in  a  single  year.  Of 
the  four  ministers  who  established  the  University  Mission 
in  the  Shire  country,  three  died  the  first  year.  The  two 
white  men  who  started  with  Stanley  died  before  his  return 
to  the  coast.  During  the  Niger  expedition  a  fifth  of  the 
white  men  perished,  while  out  of  the  one  hundred  and  eight 
black  men,  not  one  of  them  suffered  from  the  fevers. 

The  negro's  capacity  for  endurance  and  development, 
however,  in  tropical  Africa  is  without  question.  It  is  of 
his  mental  and  physical  capacities  we  propose  to  speak. 
Dr.  Livingstone  tells  us  that  the  African  is  by  no  means  the 
lowest  of  the  human  family.  He  is  nearly  as  strong  physi- 
cally as  the  European,  and  superior  to  the  Australian,  the 
South  Sea  Islander  and  the  American  Indian.  He  is  not 
of  a  different  breed  or  species  from  the  most  civilized.  In 
fulness  of  form,  shape  of  head  and  vigor  he  is  far  superior 
to  the  Tartar  and  Chinese  races.  Indeed,  the  Joloffs,  the 
Mandingoes,  the  Bari  and  Kaffirs  are  among  the  finest 
specimens  of  the  animal  man.  Nine-tenths  of  the  people 
in  Africa  are  not  negroes,  in  the  sense  often  given  to  that 
word. 

Dr.  Livingstone  tells  also  that  the  interior  tribes  are  not 
lazy,  but  a  people  with  finer  shaped  heads  on  the  average 
than  the  European — living  in  neat  villages,  cultivating  the 
soil,  braiding  mats,  working  as  smiths,  and  exhibiting 
capacities  that  only  await  the  touch  of  Christian  civilization 
to  become  all  our  hearts  could  wish.  Dr.  Schweinfurth, 
who  traveled  far  south-west  of  the  Great  Desert  came  upon 
a  people  the  color  of  half-burnt  coffee,  living  in  neat  cot- 
tages well  enclosed.  Here  he  saw  a  magnificent  hall  150 
feet  long  50  feet  high,  surrounded  by  stools  upon  which 
people  rested  themselves  during  their  convocations. 

The  love  of  trading  is  universal  among  all  these  tribes. 


<)0  FlSK     UNIVERSITY. 

while  the  shrewdness,  judgment  and  general  honesty  of  the 
native  traders  are  remarkable.  When  a  bloody  revolt  oc- 
curred in  a  province  of  Ethiopia  a  few  years  ago  the  Turk- 
ish officials  tried  in  vain  to  control  the  soldiers  and  restore 
order  and  quiet  to  the  country.  A  negro  Bey,  who,  when 
a  boy,  had  been  sold  as  a  slave  into  Egypt,  arrived,  and  by 
his  masterly  shrewdness  and  ability  quelled  the  insurrection, 
and  His  Highness,  the  Khedive,  made  him  Commander  -in- 
chief  of  the  troops  of  the  Soudan. 

The  negroes  have  exhibited  as  much  inventive  genius  as 
was  displayed  by  savages  in  Europe  and  America  until  the 
people  of  these  climes  came  in  contact  with  the  civilization 
of  the  east.  One  of  them  on  the  west  coast  invented  an 
alphabet  and  another  has  become,  doubtless,  the  most 
learned  man  on  the  continent,  either  native  or  foreign. 
Another  still,  Rev.  Barnabas  Root,  of  the  A.  M.  A.,  gradu- 
ated among  the  highest  in  a  Western  College,  and  the  Chi- 
cago Theological  Seminary. 

The  implements  of  war  and  agriculture,  the  walled  towns, 
the  organized  armies,  the  courts  of  justice  and  the  fearless 
enterprise  of  some  of  these  people  attest  their  ability  for 
great  things;  to  which  they  will  attain  when  instead  of  a 
slave  power  they  shall  have  a  protectorate  maintained  by 
civilized  nations,  and  instead  of  the  caravan  and  slave  gang, 
the  missionary  steam-engine  accompanied  by  the  missionary 
teacher,  shall  go  thundering  through  the  wilderness  of  this 
negro  land. 

But  some  one  will  ask,  What  of  his  religious  capacities? 
I  shall  not  delay  to  argue  that  the  gospel  is  adapted  to  the 
poor  and  illiterate,  and  that  for  long  ages  the  vast  throng,  of 
the  redeemed  who  have  gone  up  to  God  have  not  always 
been  possessed  of  the  grandest  faculties  and  the  highest  cul- 
ture. I  shall  not  pause  to  illustrate  that  the  success  of 
religion  is  possible  on  account  of  a  spiritual  discernment 
common  to  all,  rather  than  because  of  reasoning  faculties  or 
intellectual  strength. 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  61 

I  would  rather  ask  if  the  negro  does  not  possess  this  spir- 
itual discernment  in  a  remarkable  degree.  When  the  proph- 
et Jeremiah  lay  in  his  dungeon  there  were  many  holy  men  in 
Israel,  but  it  was  an  Ethiopian  who  was  moved  with  divine 
compassion  and  plead  with  the  king  until  he  effected  his 
release.  Many  charioteers  journeyed  -over  the  Syrian  plains, 
and  doubtless  studied  as  they  rode,  but  it  was  an  Ethiopian 
whose  love  of  God's  word  impelled  him  to  read  it  and  to 
seek  of  Philip  how  to  understand.  And  when  they  led  Him 
up  to  be  crucified,  the  Evangelist  tells  us  that  a  man  from 
Gyrene  bore  His  cross. 

Among  the  ancients  the  idea  of  spirit  in  worship  came 
up  from  Ethiopia.  The  poets  tell  us  a  negro  woman,  at 
the  shrine  of  Apollo,  taught  the  priest  an  ethical  religion, 
while  the  Olympian  divinities  repaired  to  Africa  "  to  learn 
purity  of  morals  from  the  blameless  Ethiopians."  But  we 
have  seen  the  negro  ourselves,  and  I  ask  who  has  mani- 
fested the  greatest  love  for  the  Scriptures  of  all  within  our 
shores?     Who  lias  exhibited  the  greatest  faith  in  prayer? 

"  We  pray  the  Lord,  he  give  us  signs 

That  some  day  we  be  free; 
The  north  winds  tell  it  to  the  pines. 

The  wild  duck  to  the  sea; 
And  now  He's  opened  every  door. 

And  thrown  away  the  key." 

This  represents  the  black  man's  faith  and  rejoicing.  Who 
of  all  people  is  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of  affection 
you  instinctively  feel  ?  Who  has  the  most  forgiving  spirit 
of  all  men  that  bear  the  Almighty's  image  ? 

Where  do  we  find  voices  so  full  of  richness  and  sweetness, 
and  souls  full  of  melody,  and  alight  heartedness  which  out- 
rides the  troubles  that  would  annihilate  any  other  people  ? 
Who  composed  those  prayer-songs  that  have  gone  echoing 
over  the  world  since  emancipation  ?  What  people  compose 
only  religious  sonars? 


1)2  Fisk    University. 

It  has  been  my  privilege,  perhaps,  to  listen  to  as  many 
slave  songs  as  most  men,  and  I  bear  this  testimony  that  I 
never  heard  a  song  eomposed  by  a  negro  that  was  not  a 
religions  song.      It  is 

M  Steal  away,   steal  away,   steal  away  to  .Jesus.1' 
*'  Brother,   don't  stay  away,   don't  stay  a  why." 
"  Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I   see." 
11  Keep  inching  along,  keep  inching  along, 
Jesus  will  come  by  and  by." 

This  is  the  heart-song  of  the  black  man  evermore  when 
he  has  tasted  the  love  of  Jesus.  There  can  be  no  question 
as  to  the  negro's  capacity  for  religions  things. 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  inquire  :  What  have  we  to  do 
about  it?  To  my  brethren  of  the  American  Missionary  Asso- 
ciation who  are  here  from  New  York,  it  seems  pertinent  to 
urge,  that  we  make  immediate  efforts  to  improve  and  extend 
the  work  we  are  now  carrying  on  in  tropical  Africa,  north 
of  the  Equator,  and  also  that  we  increase  our  devotion,  in 
raising  up  missionaries  among  the  Freedmen,  not  only  for 
the  South  but  for  the  vast  domains  of  Xegroland.  And  what 
shall  Fisk  University  do  —  this  Institution  born  out  of 
slavery  and  heralded  the  world  around  by  the  slave  songs 
her  children  have  sung  ? 

When  I  journeyed  in  Switzerland  1  had  the  pleasure  of 
visiting  one  of  the  grandest  of  missionary  institutions — the 
Evangelical  Missionary  College  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine. 
Already  has  it  sent  forth  99  missionaries  to  the  Gold  Coast 
of  Africa,  while  it  numbers  its  converts  by  thousands. 

So  let  Fisk  University  be  the  grand  missionary  college  of 
the  South  for  the  promotion  of  African  evangelization.  And 
so  shall  every  prayer,  and  every  tear,  and  every  effort  of 
every  worker  for  its  prosperity,  be  glorified;  and  so,  me- 
thinks,  its  great  providential  destiny  shall  be  the  more 
speedily  ushered  in. 

And  now  with  a  few  words  to  my  colored  friends  I  am 
done.     Tropical  Africa  has  been  preserved  for  the  black 


Dedication  of  Jubilee  Hall.  <>.'> 

man.  God  made  the  country  for  him  and  him  for  the  coun- 
try. Its  riches  are  for  him.  Its  future  civilization  must  be 
developed  by  him.  And  if  commerce  or  religion  ever  enters 
and  makes  blessed  this  tropical  inheritance  it  must  be  borne 
thither  by  the  sons  and  daughters  of  those  people  who  have 
been  taken  by  the  ruthless  hands  of  the  slave  merchant  and 
sold  in  the  civilized  centers  of  the  world.  India  is  said  to 
be  the  source  of  thought,  The  Phoenicians  first  taught  men 
to  trust  their  frail  barks  to  the  deep.  The  Greeks  gave  aes- 
thetic culture  and  the  Romans  law,but  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
on  earth  no  people  as  yet  have  welded  the  golden  chain  of 
love  that  shall  bind  the  hearts  .of  men  together.  What 
people  shall  do  that  ?  It  shall  be  the  great  distinction.  The 
glory  of  it  may  cost  the  price  of  blood,  but  who  has  been 
paying  this  price  for  three  thousand  years  ?  He,  who  was 
despised  and  rejected,  has  an  African  kindred  who  have 
learned  to  suffer,  and  now  they  must  learn  to  reign.  I  care 
not  that  you  seek  a  social  equality  or  political  preferment ; 
it  were  better  by  industry,  economy  and  religion  to  make 
yourselves  superiors ;  it  were  better  to  apprehend  the 
mighty  destinies  of  the  African  race  ;  it  were  better  to  take 
your  place  as  one  of  the  colors  in  God's  rainbow  that  prom- 
ises the  millennium.  An  hundred  million  black  people  await 
such  labors  as  you  can  perform.  As  Israel  in  bondage 
learned  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  as  they  carried  it  back 
to  their  fatherland,  so  may  you  pour  the  best  of  culture,  the 
richest  piety  and  the  sweetest  songs  into  the  lap  of  Africa ; 
so  may  you  weld,  in  the  land  of  the  earliest  civilizations,  the 
golden  chain  that  shall  clasp  the  world,  till  not  only  Africa 
shall  rise  and  shine,  its  light  being  come,  and  the  glory  of 
God  risen  upon  it,  but  the  church  of  Christ  receive  to  its 
treasury  such  wealth  of  affection  and  faith  as  shall  complete 
her  adornment  for  the  millennial  day. 


<>4  Fisk    [Tnivebsity. 

After  the  lecture.  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell,  Secretary  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  North,  and  others, 
added  some  instructive  and  encouraging  remarks. 


PRAYER  AND  CONFERENCE. 

On  Sunday  evening  a  meeting  for  prayer  and  conference 
was  held,  which  partook  largely  of  the  missionary  spirit 
which  had  been  roused  in  all  hearts  by  the  afternoon  lee- 
ture.  The  aims  of  this  Institution  were  spoken  of — shall  it 
indeed  be  a  missionary  school,  from  which  shall  go  forth 
young  men  and  women,  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  darkened 
lands  ? 


THE  OPENING  OF   THE  SCHOOL. 

January  3,   1876. 

On  Monday  morning  the  school  assembled  for  the  iirst 
time  in  the  new  building.  Prof.  Spence  opened  it  in 
the  usual  manner,  by  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. This  was  followed  by  brief  addresses  from  some  of 
the  students,  and  by  earnest  and  encouraging  addresses 
from  Rev.  H.  S.  Bennett,  Rev.  W.  S.  Alexander  and  Gen. 
Fisk.  These  exercises  were  among  the  most  interesting 
in  the  whole  series  of  services,  and  were  felt  to  be  aus- 
picious of  a  bright  future  for  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the 
educational  work  of  the  University. 


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